


All Because Of It

by jseify



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Switched, F/M, Headquarters, Swear Words, Switched AU, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 48,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28220604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jseify/pseuds/jseify
Summary: "You're done with the photoshoot already?"Marinette stepped in, saying, "What? You didn't miss," she paused and got closer to him, leaning down, "meow?"Adrien rolled his eyes and pushed her away from her chin. "After, what, five years? You're still not bored of those puns?""Actually," she smirked, "they werefur.”OR an alternative universe that runs around Adrien Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Agreste, Nino Césaire, Alya Lahiffe, Nathaniel Bourgeois, Chloe Kurtzberg, and a bunch of other people working together to keep Paris safe.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alix Kubdel/Lê Chiến Kim, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste, Max Kanté & Alix Kubdel & Lê Chiến Kim, Max Kanté & Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 21
Kudos: 22





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyy! This story was originally published on Wattpad, and is still on-going, but I decided to move it here as well.  
> First few chapters will be a little short but as you (hopefully) stick along, the chapters will get longer.
> 
> —
> 
> P.S. All five of them have a miraculous - save Chloe.
> 
> P.S.S. Other characters, like Max, are the same as in the show.

As he entered the room, his hands searched for that certain brick. Once he found it, he pressed it, revealing a long dark corridor.

He dashed into the hallway, feeling every step's sound ticking through the walls.

At the end, a pressed button revealed a shining light from an elevator.

Exiting the elevator, green light scanned his appearance before the system announced, "Welcome, Ladbug."

The door opened as Adrien entered the institution.


	2. 1: Character Intro 2.0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just laying out the roles and introductions of homosapiens :3

The lights shone white as Adrien walked into the headquarters. Dashing throughout it, he stopped by a few people to talk then he headed towards the stairs. Upstairs, he continued with the hallway then Adrien entered a room on his left. Opening the lights, he stepped into his quarters.

Like each and everyone one of them, Adrien had his own quarters. True to that, he did have an apartment but sometimes it felt nice to be in his quarters in the institution. His room was themed red and black due to him being Ladbug.

He sat on his couch when someone knocked on the door. Adrien yelled for him or her to come in.

The door slowly slid to the left, revealing Marinette.

"You're done with the photoshoot already?"

She stepped in, saying, "What? You didn't miss," she paused and got closer to him, leaning down, " _meow_?"

Adrien rolled his eyes and pushed her away from her chin. "After, what, five years? You're still not bored of those puns?"

"Actually," she smirked, "they were _fur_." He threw a pillow at her. "Hey!"

"Just shut up!" Adrien laughed and gently pulled her down to sit next to him.

Marinette slipped her hands into his as she slowly leaned forward. Adrien started leaning when a yell stopped him.

"Suit yourself, baby bears! Papa bear is coming in!"

"Nino, Alya is searching for you so go find her!" Marinette yelled back.

They barely heard him muttering, "You have escaped this time..."

Adrien chuckled as Marinette looked at him wondering. "What? Alya was searching for him." He cupped her cheek and kissed her.

* * *

"Alya?" Nino called out.

She turned around and replied, "Dude, I searched the whole institution for you! Where were you?"

"Well, I was on the roof before I went over to Adrien's. Mari then told me that you were searching for me."

"Hmph, no excuse."

"Okay, how could I atone for you?"

Alya tapped her chin, acting as if in deep thought. "For starters, a kiss sounds good."

Nino stepped forward and gave her a quick peck on her lips.

She blushed, exclaiming, "I meant on the cheek!"

"What? You didn't like it?"

"...That's not what I meant."

He cupped her cheek and said while smirking, "How about another one?"

She looked down saying, "We're in the library, dude."

"Then come with me," he said before he dragged Alya behind him.  
  
  


* * *

He sighed as he sat in his room. Everything was perfect in it. His room at his father's hotel was absolutely huge and fabulous, but this quarter wasn't bad to spend time in. Especially when he wanted to avoid crowds. Even the room was yellow and black themed! Those were royal colors, Nathaniel always thought. Just as his alter ego, King Bee.

He got out of his room and headed towards the right. He knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.

"Hey Nath." She shyly smiled.

"Hey Chloe."

It's true that Chloe didn't have a miraculous like the rest of the group, but she still played an important role in this institution. As the talented artist she was, Chloe was very versatile.

She managed to keep track of all akumas ever since by keeping all their info with a sketch of all their outfit details and akumatized objects in case any of the victims ever got akumatized again. In addition to that, Chloe designed herself, with some aid from Adrien, all the quarters in this building, assigning for each and everyone one of them his or her own room according to his or her alter ego. Furthermore, Chloe assisted Max in his making of technology to aid their task for Paris's sake.

In fact, she did go on the field once or twice before with the team. Who knows? Maybe that'll be repeated again someday...


	3. 2: Attack With No Defense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I'm starting to judge my old self...why are those chapters so short? I actually used to write less than 1K chapters?
> 
> Well...I could just combine them but then I'll mix up the numbers between here and Wattpad so-

"Alyaaaaaaa! Do we have to do thissss?"

"Yes we do!" Alya deadpanned.

"But why do we have to?"

She stopped moving and held her friend's shoulders, "Because, Mari, you have to embrace the inner peace! So we have to meditate."

Marinette rolled her eyes while saying, "Just because you're the turtle wielder that doesn't mean you have to drag me into this too."

"Mari, dudette, I'm not dragging you anywhere-"

"Pfft, yeah right."

She glared, continuing, "-I'm just...well...pulling you into this with me..."

"Fineeeeeee."

Alya squealed and pulled her across the long corridor. They stopped at Master Fu's quarters.

He opened his quarters for massage and meditations. Yet he was also a healer for both kwamis and their holders.

They both sat down on the mat cross legged with hands on their knees. Just as they were about to start...

Red lights started to beam as the siren sounded. Marinette quickly stood up and offered her hand to Alya.

"Meditation, you say." She rolled her eyes.

"You're not escaping this forever, dudette." They headed towards the doorway.

"We'll see about that!" Marinette called out to behind her.

"Plagg, claws out!"

"Wayzz, shell on!"

* * *

"Where are the girls?!" Renard Rouge exclaimed.

"We have to manage till they come!" Ladbug called back as they landed on a rooftop.

"Attack with no defense plan. Great!" King Bee yelled.

They jumped down to the street while observing the akumatized victim.

His outfit was dark themed with traces of neon yellow. There was a glowing symbol on his chest. He was also wearing gauntlets and boots.

Once his blasts touched a person, they fall unconscious. He kept on blasting many people until a screen on his gauntlet beeped.

"Yikes! Need to charge up!" He looked around and gasped. "Ladbug, Renard and King! What an honor! My name is Alpha. Now if you please, give over your miraculous and you may proceed normally."

"Want our miraculous? Come and get them!"

He sighed, "You're the ones who asked for it. Gladly."

The battle started and the team was already losing. Not that they weren't skilled or trained. It's just that Alpha was way faster and more skilled.

Somehow he managed to beat all three of them at once.

King Bee threw him a punch which Alpha facilely caught and quickly kicked back.

Ladbug and Renard Rouge jumped from opposite directions, both ready to kick Alpha in the air, but he caught both of their legs and threw them next to King Bee.

All three crashed on the street when the symbol on Alpha's chest started glowing.

He laughed as he opened his palm wide, ready to blast the three heroes. But he did not expect a kick from behind.

Chatte Noire expanded her pole and jumped, kicking him meanwhile Carapace landed next to the team with her shield out.

"You dudes alright?"

"Carapace! A little help here!" Chatte jumped back while spinning her baton.

"Wait, Chatte!" Ladbug tried to call out but it was already too late. Alpha sent out his blasts towards the two girls.

They turned around only to see white. After it all cleared out, their hands started to feel heavy as they both let go of their weapon.

The baton and the shield plummeted down as the two of them stumbled backwards. Their eyelids felt heavy then all they saw was black.

"Carapace!" "Chatte!" Renard and Ladbug cried out after the two crashed on the ground.

They dashed to them, checking if they're alright. He put his hand on her neck's side then around her wrist to check her pulse.

"Whatever he did to them, the effect has to be off once his akuma is purified."

"Um, guys? About that...he disappeared," King stated as he pointed to clear air.

"Well, we have to get them to the med bay!" Renard replied. He slipped one hand under Carapace's knees and the other behind her back then raised her up.


	4. 3: They're...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...apologize about my past self? This was like a year ago- sigh-

"Master Fu! Mari and Alya need medical care!" Nathaniel shouted as he dashed into the room.

Behind him were Adrien and Nino, both carrying the two girls.

They laid them down on the beds in the med bay, detransforming.

Plagg and Wayzz flew out of the miraculous right before Master Fu stepped in.

"What happened?" Fu asked the trio.

"The akuma's blasts hit them and they directly fell unconscious."

"Did you find the akuma after?" He gently landed the back of his hand on Marinette's neck.

"No, he ran away."

Two minutes passed with silence as the boys were watching Master Fu with anxiety when Alya started slowly blinking.

"Ah, they're up," Fu stated.

"You guys alright?" Nathaniel questioned, Nino and Adrien standing next to them.

"Good," Marinette said as she slowly sat up.

* * *

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Nino, that's the thousandth time you ask me that. Yes, I'm perfectly fine!" Alya replied.

"But what was the akuma's effect then? Temporary unconsciousness? That's not effective." They were back in Alya's room.

"For now, we're both alright so no need to worry."

"Okay, fineeeee!" Nino huffed out.

"So, did you update your blog?"

He sighed, "I did, but I'm still losing views because I don't have footage of the attack. It's still hard to be Renard Rouge and a blogger at the same time."

"Well, have you tried putting the video camera somewhere hidden?" Alya suggested, getting up towards her table.

"I did try that once, but we ended up battling in a further perspective than the camera's."

"Did you try hiding it somewhere in your suit or something?" She got a cup to drink water.

"Did once, ended up destroying the lens," Nino groaned.

"What about....Maybe just-" She paused.

"Maybe just what?" He turned his head to get a better view at her face.

"Al?" The cup of water in her hands slowly slipped down.

"Alya!" He rushed to her and managed to grasp her before she hit the floor.

"Alya!" He cupped her cheek.

"Alya fell too?" Adrien asked once Nino entered the med bay.

"Mari too?" He laid her on the bed again.

"Yeah, something is wrong with them."

"I knew that blast wasn't just a temporary unconsciousness. It had to have another effect."

"Yeah, but for now the akuma is nowhere to be found," Chloe added as she stepped into the room.

"We need to find it and purify it," Nathaniel declared, trailing after Chloe.

Master Fu continued checking the two girls in silence. He placed the sticky pads attached to electrodes on their hands to measure their heart rate using the monitor.

Behind him, the others were discussing how to locate the akuma when their heart rates became so rapid.

They slowly started shaking as the team gazed.

Light shone into the room as the line went straight.

"They're...."


	5. 4: Meow and Be Like Nino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just keep swimming-

"They're...." He started.

"They....." None of them was able to complete the thought.

"...Turned into animals?" Trixx finally said, staring at the black cat and tortoise sitting on the beds.

" _Meow_."

"That's the akuma's power?! And I thought temporarily unconsciousness was completely ineffective!" Nino sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Meow?" The black cat stared at them with her blue eyes.

"The akuma's blast turned you into a cat and Alya into a tortoise," Plagg answered, floating around.

"Wait, you understood what Marinette said?" Chloe asked, perplexed.

"Yeh." He threw a slice of cheese into his mouth.

"What about Alya? Do you understand what she says?"

"No, but Wa-"

"I do," Wayzz interrupted.

"So, that means that you, Trixx and Tikki don't understand any of them?" Nathaniel asked, referring to Pollen.

"Yes, true," Pollen landed on Chloe's shoulder. She only pet her tiny head as a reaction.

The tortoise chirped.

"You're stuck like this until Ladbug purifies the akuma," Wayzz replied.

"And you better work on that starting now," Master Fu told the team, Adrien mainly.

They all nodded, Adrien taking one last glance at Marinette. They turned on their heels and left, leaving Marinette and Alya with Master Fu and their kwamis.

* * *

"It's like the akuma isn't even searching for us."

Renard Rouge sighed, "You just have to be patient."

"I know. But this akuma was barely trying to take our miraculous," King Bee continued.

They were resting on a chimney after jumping over rooftops, searching for the akumatized victim.

Not even a wreckage sign was found.

"What do you mean? He did come after us," Renard questioned.

"I mean," King replied, "When our guard was down, all he did was escape instead of firing at us."

"Guys, focus." Ladbug stood up behind them.

"Yeah, you can ask him why wasn't he after us when we catch him." Renard got on his feet, following Ladbug.

Grunting, King got up and followed them slowly.

There was still no sign of the akuma. 

* * *

Nino, back at the institution, walked throughout the corridors, heading towards his room.

In the middle of his step, he spotted something moving against the wall.

"Alya?" Nino dashed towards the object that turned out to be a tortoise.

Kneeling down, he wondered, "Hey. What are you doing here?"

The tortoise chirped.

"Um, I have no idea what you're saying..." Perplexed, Nino looked around for Wayzz.

When he found no kwami, he sighed and picked her up.

"Let's get to the room."

She stayed silent.

* * *

He walked into his room furious. Turning around to close the door, he noticed a black blur moving.

Paw in front of paw, the black cat entered his room. She stopped by his feet and sat then meowed, looking up.

Brushing his hair with his fingers, Adrien sat down next to the cat and sighed.

"Sorry, Mari."

"Meow?"

"We couldn't find the akuma. And now you're stuck like this."

"Meow." She lightly scratched on his knee.

He chuckled, "Although I can't literally understand you, I feel your intentions." Adrien scratched under her chin as she purred.

Looking away, probably embarrassed, the cat was heading for the door until she was raised from the floor.

She shrieked, which turned out to be a loud meow, as she landed in his arms.

"Come on, Mar. It's cuteee!" She turned her head away.

"No, wait. It's actually adorable."

"Meow..." She started to sound irritated as her ears slowly leaned down.

"Sorry..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Pupils small, she stared at him with her bluebell eyes.

"Meow."

"That means I'm forgiven?" She gave him a look. If she wasn't a cat right now, Adrien thought, she would have been smirking and saying a pun. Too bad she can't now.

"You're probably going to say 'Don't you mean _fur_ given?', even given your situation." He reached his arm behind him and rested his palm on the floor.

She swayed her head to the side, almost giving him an approving look.

He smiled.

They'll have to find the akuma. And they'll eventually do. But perhaps for now, he might just relax and stop fretting over the issue. Like Nino...


	6. 5: Hey, Animal Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So, I'm not copying my notes from Wattpad- but this is important so-)
> 
> Their headquarters first entrance is from an alley then a room to a secret elevator.

Sirens went off in the middle of the night, waking everyone up.

Chloe sat up in her bed and looked at the clock. Too early, she thought to herself. She changed her clothes and rushed to the hall.

"What's going on?!" Nathaniel asked, dashing into the hall.

"Someone's in the alley," Max answered him while checking the monitors.

"What? Who?!" Adrien blurted out, taking a step closer to the screens.

There was a person dressed in a black suit with some neon yellow detailed features. 

Squinting his eyes, Nino glowered, "Alpha!"

"Does he know this is our hideout or is it just a coincidence?" Chloe questioned.

"Doesn't matter. We're stopping him," Nathaniel declared as he turned around and sprinted out of the room.

"Right after y-"

"Meow."

Adrien turned around and glanced at the black cat standing in front of them. "No way. You're not coming with."

She meowed again, staring at him with her bluebell eyes. The tortoise chirped from behind her.

Nino rested his hand on Adrien's shoulder and assented, saying, "Both of you are staying here."

They turned on their heels and headed to the roof.

"Finally, some break from transforming," Plagg gushed with satisfaction. As Plagg swallowed the piece of Camembert he was bearing, Wayzz gazed at them.

"Oh no. I know that look."

The cat only shared a look with the tortoise. 

* * *

"Hey, animal guy! You have something we need."

Alpha noticed three figures standing on top of a roof.

"Seriously, Bee? Is that the best thing you could come up with?" Renard sniggered, one hand resting on his hip.

"Chatte would have came up with something better," Ladbug teased.

Taking a step forward, he grunted, "Didn't exactly see any of you saying anything better!"

They shrugged and leaped down after him.

"Well, well, well. Look who's back for more. Hand over your miraculous and you'll save us both time and effort."

"Mm, sorry, pal, but I'm not in any hurry. Are you guys?"

"Nope."

Declaring the battle started, Alpha threw a yellow blast at them. Dodging it, each had jumped to a different balcony in the alleyway.

Since it was too dark to see clearly, they could surprise attack him. But so could he.

Slinging from the yo-yo, Ladbug bolted and kicked Alpha, but all it did was slide his boots across the concrete.

"My turn now!" He threw repetitive punches as Ladbug kept dodging every one of them.

Bee threw his stinger at Alpha, but he caught it and swung Bee towards Ladbug.

Renard jabbed him in the back, causing him to stumble. Alpha turned around and threw a kick at him, which he merely dodged.

As he was fighting, he noticed that Alpha's gauntlet had to be the akumatized object.

"Lad, it's the gaun-" Renard was interrupted when Alpha managed to land a kick on him.

Ladbug got up, brushing the dirt off him. "That's enough. Lucky Cha-"

"Ladbug, heads up!" Bee cautioned.

He leaned backwards to dodge the blast coming his way. He was about to throw his yo-yo when he noticed a black object falling. Wait, it wasn't an object. It was a cat.

The cat leaped onto Alpha's head, scratching him. He stumbled backwards and tripped on a rock. Scratch that, it was a tortoise.

"Venom!" Bee threw his stinger at Alpha to paralyze him.

"Where's the aku-"

"The gauntlet!"

Stepping forward to pick up the gauntlet, Ladbug wondered, "How do we destroy it without Cataclysm?"

"Uh...Lucky charm?"

"Lucky Charm!" He threw the yo-yo into the air, and, as expected, he got a hammer.

He freed the akuma and purified it. Throwing the spotted hammer into the air, he shouted, "Miraculous Ladbug!" Ladybugs fixed the place and returned the animals back to humans.

Groaning, the girls stood up.

"Ugh, I definitely don't want to repeat that again."

"Neither do I."

"Seriously?!" Renard yelled. "We've been fighting him and they defeat him that easily!"

"What can we say? _Mew_ guys are doomed without us," Marinette smirked.

"I liked you better as a cat. At least less puns."

"Hilarious."


	7. 6: Training

The batons clashed together. Both sides pushing on harder.

He slightly loosened his grip to throw a punch at her. She took the upper hand and pushed harder after dodging his fist.

She suddenly let go, swiftly turned around him, and jabbed him in the back with her baton. He stumbled and groaned.

"Your problem is that you don't use your flute as a baton much. You just use your hands."

"Because that's what happens when I do use it. I always lose." He dropped the baton on the mat. 

"So, instead of training to learn how to battle with it, you don't use it at all?" She placed her baton next to his.

He was about to say something to defend himself, but he couldn't find an excuse.

Instead, he dodged the topic. "Water break?"

"Sure. Take five." 

* * *

She entered her room and opened her bag from the table.

"So, how's training?" Marinette turned around and found Adrien.

"Uh, you know the usual stuff." She took out her bottle to drink.

"As in like, you should use your flute more?" He flopped down into the couch. Shortly after, she sat down next to him.

Crossing her arms, she insisted, "I mean, it's good- no great that he knows how to fight with no weapons, but sometimes to have the upper hand in a fight you need a weapon."

"You're right. But so far he's been doing good without using his flute much."

"I know. But he needs to be prepared to use the weapon he always bears in more than one way," Marinette concluded as she stood up.

Standing up as well, Adrien said, "Well, I gotta go get Nathaniel."

"Right. See ya in the training room." 

* * *

"Heads up!" Nino turned around and caught the baton from midair.

"Ready to start?" Marinette asked, holding her own baton.

Sighing, he replied, "Let's go."

* * *

Adrien opened the cabinet to take out the yo-yo and the spinning top. Master Fu crafted those two weapons to be similar as the ones they have when they're transformed.

Throwing the spinning top to Nathaniel, Adrien got in position.

"Ready?"

"The real question is if you're ready to lose?" Nathaniel smirked.

Adrien chuckled, "Go!"

Both sides charged their weapons as they clashed in the midair.

Quickly retrieving back his spinner, Nathaniel threw it back again, aiming it at his opponent's ankle.

Adrien quickly jumped away and, while in midair, he threw his yo-yo and caught Nathaniel's wrist. He tossed him to the side.

Thinking it's over, Adrien turned to take a look at Marinette and Nino at the other end of the room to check how they're doing, but before he could, Nathaniel charged his spinner.

It caught his ankle then he fell on his back.

"Like I said, ready to lose?"

Looking up at Nathaniel, he swiftly tackled his feet, causing him to fall on his back as well.

"Ready to what now?"

"That's not fair! You didn't use the yo-yo," Nathaniel groaned.

"You don't always have to use your weapon, you know. You should know some moves to do without any weapon."

"Oh, so we're training any style now? Not just practicing using the weapons?"

"Since when was our training centered on a technique?" Adrien offered him his hand.

"Seriously?" He narrowed his eyes and reluctantly took it.

He threw him his spinner. "I'll go check on Chloe. She said she wants to talk to me." Nathaniel turned on his heels and headed to the door.

"All right." Adrien put back both weapons in the cabinet again.

He observed as Marinette and Nino continued their training.

"You don't have to push hard. Be strategic." She hit his knee with her baton.

"Ouch. Easy for you to say." Nino strongly swung his baton and dashed. She easily dodged it and tripped him.

"See, exactly my point. And why's that?"

He groaned as he turned around. "Cause you've been at this longer than I have."

"Not an excuse. As if I was good at using my baton when I first started."

Standing up, he muttered, "You think you're always right."

"Excuse me?!" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

He took a step closer, saying, "I said, you think you're always right!"

Gripping on her baton harder, she asked, "Do you have something you want to say, Nino?"

"I'm just saying that I tried to be cool with it for Adrien. But ever since we discovered that Hawky was-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Adrien stepped between them.

Glaring at Nino for one last time, she dropped her baton and left the room.

He watched her leave and as soon as she was out of sight, he turned to Nino. "What was that all about?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry, man. But this has been bothering me for months."

"You know what she's been through."

"I know, and that's why I tried to be cool, mostly for you."

Putting his hand on Nino's shoulder, Adrien replied, "You don't have to force yourself to do anything, but think about it."

Sighing once again, he muttered, "I will."


	8. 7: Training [Part 2]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here it starts to get longer I think :)

"Plagg? Plaaaaaaaggg?" She got out a piece of Camembert.

"CAMEMBERT!" He dashed to take it but Marinette caught his tail and put away the cheese.

"So, instead of meditating with Alya and the other kwamis, you were sleeping?"

Pulling his tail, Plagg simply answered, "What's the difference? Eyes closed, no sound or movement. It's sleeping."

Crossing her arms and leaning back, Marinette just gazed at him as he continued, "Plus, it's training day! Meaning, finally some break with no transformation-"

The sirens sounded and red lights turned on. Plagg sighed.

"You just had to say that, right?" She turned to Alya and rested her hand on her shoulder, saying, "Hey, Al? Akuma alert."

Opening her eyes, Alya replied, "Now? Ugh, let's go."

Marinette offered her her hand to stand up. She gladly took it and grabbed the kwamis then headed to the hall.

* * *

"Hey, Chlo."

Turning around from her work, Chloe watched as Nathaniel leaned on the doorway.

"Oh! Hey! Come in."

He did as he was told. Slowly walking into the room, he glanced at the surroundings, observing how messed up everything was.

Just as he was about to question the view, Chloe pulled his arm and pushed him onto the chair.

"Uh-" He was interrupted yet again.

She held out in her palm a tiny device as she squealed. "This is something Max and I have been working on! You know how in all comics and series any team has communicators?"

"You didn't..." Nathaniel grinned.

"I did!" She bounced up and down. "Well, technically, Max and I did but it was my idea."

Chloe turned around and picked up a box from her table. She opened it to reveal tiny communicators to be put in their ears, each having a specific detail to show it belonged to who.

Nathaniel picked up the one with a tiny bee doodle and laughed.

"This is adorable and epic."

"I knowww!" She smiled.

 _She_ was adorable and epic, he thought.

They looked up as soon as the lights turned red and the sirens went off.

Turning back to her, he asked the one question he already knew its answer. "Ready to try them out?"

She couldn't keep herself from smiling widely.

After they all gathered at the hall, Chloe revealed the box to them.

Handing each one of them their specific communicator, Chloe listened as Max explained.

"Those communicators were a little side project Chloe and I were working on. They'd allow you to talk at all times," he paused then looked mainly at Adrien and Marinette, "instead of having to use your miraculous to call each other, those of you who have that feature."

"And! It also allows us to track your location from here," Chloe excitedly added.

"Ha, like in comics!" Nino laughed while looking around at the tiny device.

"Well, go! You have an akuma to catch."

Turning on their heels, they all headed to the exit. Adrien reached out for Marinette's hand to slow her down a bit.

She turned and looked at him.

"Are you okay?" Adrien whispered.

Her eyes looked down then back at his eyes. "I'm fine."

Deciding it's better to drop the topic, he said, "Let's go _cat_ -ch the akuma."

She smiled.

* * *

The sun was setting and it was almost nighttime. The girls on the roofs and the boys on the ground, the team searched for the akuma everywhere.

 _"Did you guys find anything?"_ Ladbug asked.

Chatte answered, "Nope. Nothing at all."

"Are you sure there is an akuma, Max?" Carapace asked.

 _"Of course I'm sure! You just keep an eye opened,"_ he replied from headquarters.

Sensing her partner tense, she turned to her and said, "Chatte?"

Her cat ears were twitching, trying to catch the sound. Tail swiftly moving, she narrowed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

_"Bee, there's a heat signature right in front of you."_

He looked around and replied, "But..there's nothing."

"Yeah, Max. There's no one," Renard said.

_"Something is wrong. The heat signature was only there for a second before disappearing."_

"But how's that possible?" Carapace asked, continuing to observe her partner.

_"I'm not sure. The only possible explanation is that the akuma-"_

Chatte swiftly extended her baton and someone crashed on the floor.

"Has super speed," she continued Max's statement.

"Guys, we got her."

In front of them was a girl wearing a suit themed red and blue. She was bearing black goggles and a silver necklace. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

_"Dudes, she won't stay knocked out much longer. Hurry!"_

"We're on our way, Carapace!" Renard yelled out as they jumped over the rooftops.

Blinking, she sat up before she looked around.

"Dudes, she's-" Carapace got interrupted when the akuma pulled her arm and swung her around with her super speed.

She threw her at the chimney then turned to Chatte and ran.

Chatte spun her baton into a shield as the akuma crashed right into it. While the akuma was pushing, she tripped her with her leg.

The akuma fell on her back as Chatte held her baton above her.

"Smart you think you are," she chuckled then, in the speed of lightning, she jumped and kicked Chatte, causing her to fall off the building.

Before she hit the ground, a body caught her from midair. Opening her eyes as she recovered, she saw Ladbug.

He landed both of them on the concrete. "You okay?"

"Peachy."

"Where's the akuma?"

"I don't know. Maybe back up."

He threw his yo-yo and jumped up while she extended her baton to climb up.

* * *

Renard was kneeling down beside her. He shook her as he said, "Carapace? Are you okay? How many fingers are those?"

She looked at his hand and said, "Are you showing me anything?" She fell right after that.

"Carapace? Carapace! Alya!" He shook her harder.

"I'm awake!" She sat up, rubbing her forehead.


	9. 8: Training [Part 3]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and btw, training days usually start at like maybe 6:30 am or something-  
> Just something super early-

"Guys, where did the akuma go?" Bee asked, scanning the area around.

As Ladbug and Chatte landed on the rooftop, Chatte heard something.

"She didn't go anywhere," she said before she leaned forward, causing the akuma to flip over her own back and fall in front of her.

Leaning on her elbow, the akuma chuckled, "Quick reflexes, kittycat."

"Who are you, anyways?" Carapace asked.

She looked her way then turned back to Chatte. "I, Reign, will be the last face you miserable people will see before I take your miraculous."

Reign stood up but before she could run away, Ladbug wrapped his yo-yo around her waist.

She smiled and simply phased through it. He retracted his yo-yo once it fell.

She looked at Bee as he called out, "Venom!"

Reign bolted towards him as he attempted to sting her with his spinner. She pulled it out from his grip and stung him with it. He was paralyzed.

She reached out to take his miraculous when a shield was thrown her way.

Carapace caught the shield as it boomeranged its way back to her.

Just as Reign was about to attack her, Chatte hit her with her baton. Reign barely slid against the concrete then dashed towards her.

Chatte spun her baton into a shield again to block her. Renard jumped from the back and kicked Reign. She fell onto the floor but she was quick to stand back up.

She touched her necklace as two hammers appeared in her hands. She swung them both at them.

With the akuma in middle between them, Chatte blocked it with her baton as Renard copied her with his flute.

The hammers were too heavy and Renard tried to push harder but he couldn't. He slipped and Reign caught his ankle then swung him at Chatte. They both landed next to Bee, who was still paralyzed.

Reign made her way to grab their miraculous when Carapace landed next to them and yelled, "Shell-ter!"

It created a power orb around them that Reign couldn't enter. She tried phasing into the orb but she couldn't.

She turned around and saw Ladbug as he threw his yo-yo to catch her ankle.

He pulled it and she fell. She got back up and caught Ladbug from his arm. She ran and slammed him on the floor. She ran again and bumped into the chimney.

Reign bolted down the building and threw Ladbug, making him crash to the garbage bin.

She dashed back up.

"Chatte! Renard! Dudes!" Carapace shook them both.

Groaning, Chatte sat up. "When will this be over with?"

Renard turned over just in time to see the shield as it faded.

Reign bolted out of nowhere and grabbed Carapace's arm then spun her around and threw her. She landed on the other roof.

Chatte grabbed her baton and his flute from the floor. She stood up and handed Renard his flute. 

"Don't you people get tired or bored?" Reign asked.

"Funny. I was just about to say the same thing," Chatte replied.

Reign dashed towards Chatte but tripped in the way when Renard jabbed her with his flute.

_"Chatte."_

"Not the best time, Chlo," she whispered back while dodging a hit from Reign's hammer.

_"I know, but listen. You know how in comics all speedsters can't bear one thing?"_

She gasped, "The cold."

_"You got it, girl!"_

She looked at Renard and he nodded. They had to change the setting.

Chatte distracted the akuma meanwhile he had the chance to hop away.

He found the building he was looking for. Grabbing his flute from his back, he played it and shouted, "Mirage!"

The place turned to look like a bowling center.

"Chatte, mission complete. It's a bowling center now. Get here, now!"

_"Copy that."_

When he said "Get here, now," he did not expect Chatte to be thrown into the building's wall.

He went to her and shook her. "Chatte? Come on!"

She slowly opened her eyes but they closed too soon. She wasn't able to wake up.

They had to be in that certain spot before Reign came in.

He carried her and placed her behind the counters. He quickly moved into position when Reign barged into the building.

She saw him and bolted directly to him, but she slipped.

"What?!"

The illusion disappeared revealing an ice skating center, and they were standing right in the middle of an ice rink.

Groaning, she touched her necklace and got a hammer out. "You think you're so smart to trick me, ha? Well, you definitely can't win against me in a fight!"

Renard got out his flute and said, "We'll see about that."

Reign swung her hammer at him. He blocked it with his flute.

Frustrated, she attempted to run, only to slip in the end.

"What's the problem? Can't run on ice?"

She groaned and tripped him. He fell on his back then opened his eyes just in time to roll away before the hammer crushed him.

She swung it at him again and he blocked it with his flute. She pushed harder and harder and Renard was losing.

He was about to try to push stronger when he remembered.

**_"You don't have to push hard. Be strategic."_ **

Be strategic, he repeated to himself, be strategic.

With a swift move, Renard kicked her foot, causing her to trip then spun around her and jabbed her in the back.

She fell to the ice and didn't stand back up. He kneeled down and removed her necklace.

He looked back at Chatte and found her slowly sitting up. He smiled and headed her way.

"You alright?" She looked up and saw a hand offered to her.

She grabbed it and stood up. "No breaks so far."

He extended his fist. Chatte looked at him then at the akuma, who's fallen on the ice.

Her eyes glanced down then up quickly. She gave a mere smile and bumped his fist with hers.

"Pound it!"

_"Guys, where are you?"_

_"Dudes, where did you go?"_

"Ice skating center."

_"We're on our way."_

Ladbug and the others later came. Renard gave him the necklace and he purified the akuma and fixed all the damage done.


	10. 9: Training [Part 4]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear reader who I hope stuck around with the horribly short chapters! The sun is shining through!

"Thanks for coming with, Al."

"No worries, dudette. What are friends for?" They were walking on the stone paths.

"You mean, _best_ friends."

"Yeah, I do. Besides, I love one nice cold night walk." She pulled her hoodie's sleeves.

"Still not much matching the coldness of the place we're going to," Marinette muttered. From her bag, Plagg heard her and frowned.

"What was that?" Alya asked.

"I said the weather's nice tonight."

"Yeah, it is, dudette."

They stood in front of it. The Agreste mansion. Marinette closed her eyes and swallowed.

Plagg peeked out of the bag and rubbed his head on Marinette's hand, which was holding the bag. She looked down at him then at Alya.

Alya put her hand around Marinette's farther shoulder as they walked in.

The house was cold and dull just as she last remembered. They went up the stairs and opened the doors to her room, more precisely, her _old_ room.

"What did you want to grab, anyways?"

Marinette opened a drawer and shuffled around until her hands reached the heart-shaped box.

"Some stuff."

Another drawer opened and she got out a tiny box. She went upstairs to the shelves and pulled a cover.

She shoved the items in her bag, careful not hurt Plagg.

"Let's leave."

Going downstairs, Alya said, "You came here for a box?"

"It's not the item, Al. It's the backstory."

Almost to the door, Marinette thought. Just a few more-

"Look who came to visit."

"I was just leaving," she said, without even turning around.

"Without greeting your own father? And turn around while talking to me."

She turned around and found him standing in the area where the two staircases collide and form one huge staircase that reaches to the bottom. As usual, he had that cold pose.

"Father? What, have you forgotten you gave up that title years ago?" She started gripping harder on her bag's handle.

"I gave it up? It was you who gave everything up! We could have lived together in peace."

"After everything you did? Never." She narrowed her eyes and turned around, continuing her way to the door as she pulled Alya with her.

"What about _her_?" The mentioning made her stop but she didn't turn around yet.

"We could have saved her. We could have lived together again like the happy family we were," he continued.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and snapped, "And become greedy and cruel, taking someone else's - or more - life away? Have you ever paused for a moment and asked yourself if this is what she would have wanted?"

This time, she turned around and finally left.

She entered the institution and stormed to her quarters. On the way, she almost bumped into Adrien, who was almost going to stop her if she wasn't going so quickly.

Eyebrows scrunched, he turned to Alya who was slowly trailing after Marinette.

"What happened?" A simple question that has a complicated answer.

Alya sighed. 

* * *

Marinette stopped by the training room to grab her bottle.

"Heads up!" She turned around and caught the baton. She looked and found Nino.

She put the baton aside, saying, "Maybe tomorrow, Nino."

Humming, he said, "Actually, I just wanted to...apologize to you."

That made her turn on her heels and stare at Nino.

"About...the morning, you know. I also wanted to thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Reign."

He paused then added, "I was wrong, I'm sorry."

"Thanks, Nino. So, training tomorrow?"

"Definitely." He smiled.

She left the room and headed to her own quarters.

She threw the bag on the floor and locked the door behind her.

"Hey!" Plagg zoomed out of the bag. He knew how she was feeling so he didn't complain further.

She sat down on side of the bed. Elbows resting on her knees, she slightly bent down and put her hands on the back of her head.

Someone knocked on the door. "Marinette?" He paused.

"Mari, please open the door." She didn't say anything.

"Kitty?"

Plagg landed on her leg. "Mari, talk to him."

She looked at Plagg then carried and placed him on the table. She stood up and went to open the door.

Adrien came inside the dark room, not that he was complaining that the lights were off.

She locked the door behind him and climbed onto the bed, resting her back on the wall cornering the bed.

He followed her after he placed Tikki on the table next to Plagg. He sat next to Marinette and rested his arm around her shoulders as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What happened, kitty?"

She stayed silent while looking down. After a bit, he raised her chin with his free hand so that she'd look at him.

Still, she looked down. "Mari..."

Eventually, she looked up at him for a few seconds then turned her head - removing his grip - and looked away, saying, "Why are you worried about what happens between him and I?"

"Kitty," he sighed, "You know that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you."

After few more minutes passed, Adrien was about to leave until he heard her talk.

"I went with Alya there," she started, still looking down. "I just wanted to grab a few things from my old room and I did, but just before we could leave, he came."

He noticed how she started gripping on the blanket.

"We...talked like the usual. He called himself my father, as if he didn't give up that title years ago."

She paused then looked up at him. "He did, didn't he?"

It sounded almost rhetorical, but Adrien still felt the need to reassure her. He stared at her eyes and saw frustration with mere sadness.

"Since he became Hawkmoth," he said.

She looked back down, continuing her story. "I turned away and I was about to leave when..."

"When?"

He noticed her slowly loosening her grip on the blanket.

"...He mentioned her. My mother. He-He said we could've saved her."

Adrien waited for her to continue, but she stopped. "And...what did you say?"

She looked back up at him. He observed her eyes carefully, noticing this time they're full of sadness and...loneliness.

A tear fell on her cheek. He pushed her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek, wiping that tear. She leaned to his touch and closed her eyes.

"I-I said that we'd become cruel, taking someone's life away, and that," she cleared her throat as Adrien rubbed her shoulder with the hand laying loosely there, "and I asked him if...if he ever stopped to think about what she'd say..."

She opened her eyes and scrunched her eyebrows. "And...that had me thinking."

"About?"

"...What...What would M-Mom think of what I've been doing?"

"Oh, kitty," he sighed and kissed her on her forehead. "Of course she'll be proud."

"Will she? Will she be proud of what's going on between him and I?" She stared at him with those ocean blue eyes.

"I'm sure she'll...she'll be proud that you chose the good side, the justice's side even if it meant being against him."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.

"Thank you, my knight."

He chuckled at the old nickname.

Adrien started leaving when Marinette held his hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Leave you to sleep, you must be tired especially after the akuma."

She looked down and whispered, "Could you...could you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

He almost couldn't hear her but he did. He turned away from her to hide his slight blush.

He looked back and said, "You're never alone."

Plagg and Tikki were watching them from the table. His tiny heart ached him when he saw his holder like that.

"She's strong," Tikki said.

"Yeah, she is. And unique," Plagg whispered back.

"I know you're upset, Plagg, seeing her like this, but she-"

"I know she could handle it. I know she's great and she cares about others and protects them...but most times, she has one person who she doesn't protect, herself."

"She suffered a lot, but she still stood strong. She's still learning how life's rotating, Plagg. Don't worry, soon enough, she'll figure everything out."

"I hope she does, Tikki." He wrapped his tail around her and they both slept in the middle of their holders' conversation.


	11. 10: Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...What are these titles even-

_Two years ago._   
_(Almost two years after they became Ladbug and Chatte Noire.)_

_A knock came on his trapdoor. He looked up and saw a silhouette with cat ears and a tail._

_"Adrien?" She dropped inside._

_He looked down and muttered, "Hey, Mari."_

_She placed her hand on top of his and asked, "Hey, what happened? Alya told me you and Nino fought...?"_

_He nodded, saying, "But it's no biggie."_

_"Why?"_

_"It's just," he paused, hugging his pillow, "He said that he thinks I'm keeping a secret from him and that I'm always in a rush...Always lying."_

_"Oh, Adrien." She pulled him closer and caressed his head which now laid on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I had a photo shoot-"_

_"It's alright. It's just...sometimes, I wish I could just tell him. You know the feeling?" He glanced up at her._

_"I know, but things will be better later."_

_"How will they when I am almost ignoring my best friend? He's right in every word he said. Because I'm Ladbug I have to lie to him or ditch him and everyone else daily."_

_"The time will come, and we'll have to tell them, but for now, you just have to try your best to balance both lives."_

_Slowly nodding, he hugged her and said, "Thanks, kitty."_

_She stood up to leave when he pulled her hand._

_"Could you...Could you stay with me...until I sleep I mean," he said while slightly looking away to hide his blush. "I don't want to be alone."_

_She looked away then back at him. "You're never alone."_

_Landing his head on the pillow, he closed his eyes while she played with his hair._

_Sooner than later he slept. Chatte pulled her hand away and landed a kiss on his forehead before leaving._

* * *

_Present day._

"Mom, Dad, I'm homeeee!" A yell was heard throughout the bakery right after the bell bounced.

"Adrien! You're just in time to try the newest flavor!" His father greeted him as he hugged him.

"Adrien, my boy! How are you?" Sabine asked once she reached them.

"I'm fine, Mom," he replied, reaching over to hug his mother. "Hey, Dad. What's the new formula?"

"Ta-da!" Tom exclaimed as he revealed a pan full of different pastries. "We added a tiny new ingredient to the dough. What do you think?"

Adrien grabbed one and took a bite. "Yummmmmmmm. What did you do?"

"It's the latest secret formula!" Tom waved his hands in the air.

"And you're not getting it until you tell us what you've been up to, young man," Sabine added in.

"Alright, alright! Let's go to the living room- I'll tell you alllllll about my days and maybe we could even play a game?" Adrien suggested hopefully.

His parents shared a look and started pulling him upstairs.

"Definitely."

* * *

"Hold still, Monsieur!"

"I _am_ still, Jean-Claude!"

"You do know very well, Monsieur, that any appearance you make next to Mayor Bourgeois massively alerts the press," Butler Jean insisted as he fixed Nathaniel's tie, "Monsieur, you have to look at your best."

Nathaniel snorted, "Please, Jean-Marc, I'm _always_ looking best."

"I bet Mr. Cuddly would beg to differ-"

"Jean-Luc! You promised you wouldn't-" Nathaniel shrieked before he got interrupted.

"I am only kidding, Monsieur."

"More like teasing. Seriously, Jean-Jacques-" He tried to protest but got interrupted once again.

The door to his room opened. "It's time, Mr. Bourgeois."

"Right."

* * *

She slipped her headphones on and adjusted herself in front of the mixer.

She placed the CD inside and slowly raised the volume. The brunette started to slightly change the frequencies and tones of the song.

She had to finish this song for tomorrow's party that she has to DJ.

After a couple of carefree minutes, Alya smiled to her self and dropped her headphones, whispering, "Bingo!"

* * *

He sighed to himself as he read the comments on his blog.

"'We want to see more footage of the heroes! We want to see more of Renard Rouge! We want we want'," he imitated.

He stood up from his seat to pace around his room.

"I seriously gotta find a way to film the battle or something...I'm slowly losing viewers..." he murmured to himself.

He sighed again. He already thought of everything before and all his ideas failed. Camera hidden in background? Destroyed. Camera hidden in his suit? Destroyed. Camera hidden on roof? Well, you probably know the answer to that one.

Sighing once _again_ , he grabbed his hoodie and turned around to leave his room when- Oh, OH!

"That's it!" Nino dashed back to his room and slammed the door.

* * *

"3...2...1...shot!" Vincent, the photographer, hollered as he leaned in all directions, taking all views of pictures.

There, standing in the middle, was a bluenette with her hair loose. She wore a crop top with one loose shoulder along with some jeans and light makeup.

"Again!" Vincent groaned. "Mademoiselle, show me that smile! Give me that spark in your eyes!" He went on and on.

She changed her pose as he instructed. "Perfecto!"

She silently sighed. She seriously hated photoshoots, but she was doing them for.....

Marinette frequently questioned herself; why is she _really_ still doing photoshoots? Should she just...stop?

One thing for sure, it was too late to change her mind.


	12. 11: Life [Part 2]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Again, I don't copy notes from Wattpad, but this seems kinda important to mention?)
> 
> Apparently I'm making another "tiny arc" which is a day long...this one is Life aka what those creatures do when akumas don't come out

"Chlo," Max said as he approached her, holding a box, "Those are the stuff that need a redesign to be specialized for each one of them."

Turning around, removing her headphones, Chloe replied, "Ahhh! Thanks, Max!"

He handed her the box, adding, "Anytime, Chlo. Do you need anything else?"

"Uh, no, thanks. You going somewhere?" She placed the box on her desk.

"Yeah, I'm going to visit my parents," Max responded, fixing his glasses.

"Oh, okay! Have fun! Say hi for me, will ya?"

Turning on his heels, he chuckled, "Of course. Bye, Chlo."

Pushing a strand of stray hair behind her ear, she wore her headphones and spun around to continue her work.

* * *

She entered the training room and found him sitting cross-legged and carrying his laptop by the wall.

"Hey," Nino acknowledged her, looking up from his typing.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late," Marinette greeted back as she sat next to him on the floor.

"Nah, it's alright! I was just continuing fixing my blog." He glanced back at his screen.

She questioned, peaking at his screen, "You finally found a way?"

"Yup! But hush! It's a surprise!" Nino answered, closing his laptop.

"So?"

"So?" He twisted his neck to stare at her.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Training?"

"Yeah, let's go." He stood up and offered her his hand.

Taking his hand and standing up, she dusted her sweatpants and beseeched, "So, uh, what kind of training do you want?"

"Right," he started, putting his hand up his neck, "Yesterday, against that speedster, what did you- how did you know if she was heading towards you? None of us saw anything except a wind trail."

"Oh, that. Look, I didn't see her," she explained as she played with a stray strand of her hair, "It's more like- I _heard_ her coming."

"Heard?" Nino dropped his hand in surprise.

"Yeah, it's like, I heard the ground rumbling under her feet so I knew which direction was she heading."

"That's- awesome!"

She snickered lightly. "So, what now?"

"Can you - uh - show me how? Wait, can I even do that?" He scrunched his eyebrows together thoughtfully.

Dropping her hand to place it at her hip, she spoke in response, "Well, if anyone in this team can do that, it'll be you. You got sensitive ears too, you know."

"Right...Right, of course!" He raised a hand to his forehead. "So, uh, are you showing me how?"

"Sure. Just let me fetch Plagg from my room." She spun into her heels and headed towards the exit.

"Yeah, sure- Oh, wait! I need to get Trixx, too!" He quickly grabbed his laptop and followed her.

* * *

He yawned, entering the institution. He headed towards the room, only to stop as he heard someone address him.

"Long day, Nath?"

Nathaniel twisted his neck to see Alya leaning on the wall adjacent to him. Sighing, he replied, "You could say that, Al."

Picking herself up from the wall, she marched towards him, teasing, "Oh, so the majestic, stately King Bee _does_ get tired from a royal day?"

"Ugh, Alya. Now's not the time," he groaned.

"Why? And if you're so tired, why did you come here?" Alya questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Looking away from her to continue his way, he answered, "I wanted to train-"

"Great! Let's spar!" Alya interrupted, dashing to follow his steps.

"But-" Nathaniel stopped walking to stare at her.

"What? Dude, are you scared I'll win you?" She placed her fist against her hip.

Gazing at her for a couple of seconds, he smirked, "You wish! Game on!"

"Yes!" She fist pumped the air. "It's been a while since I sparred with someone- But!" Alya added as she saw him about to interrupt. "But! I am so gonna win."

"Ha, yeah right! You're rusty and you know it."

"Rusty? _Rusty_?! Remind me again who saved your butt yesterday?" Alya snarled.

"We'll see," Nathaniel smirked and continuing his way to the training room.

"' _We'll see_ ' I'm kicking your tin can head," she mocked as she stepped after him.

* * *

"I don't get it! You both are training. What does this have to do with _me_? Training sessions are the time I get to rest with my Camembert!" Plagg whined as he stretched on top of Marinette's head.

"Oh, shush it, Plagg," Trixx remarked from her place on Nino's shoulder.

Plagg flew towards Trixx, about to throw another snarky comment back before someone caught his tail.

"Deep breaths, Plagg." She cupped him with her hands. "We just need to practice using our senses- that's all. If it helps, I'm going to give you even more Camembert after?"

Marinette pet his head with her finger as he purred. "Okay, _fineee_."

She glanced at Nino who nodded at her before they both transformed.

Chatte Noire laid down on the mat cross-legged as she gestured for Renard Rouge to copy her.

"Okay, so, just close your eyes and try to like move your ears around. Detect any slightest sound."

He closed his eyes and attempted it.

* * *

Nath stopped as he stood in he doorway, gazing at the two room occupants.

"Hey! Why did you stop?" Alya yelled from behind his back.

"Shh! Look!"

She looked around his body and saw her two friends sitting on a mat.

"Are they...meditating?" Nathaniel asked.

"No...that's not-"

"You guys, what are you doing there?" Renard acknowledged them.

"Hey. We wanted to train but if you're-" Alya started, stepping into the room, but got interrupted once again.

"No, no! It's cool. You guys train over there. It'll actually help us," Chatte chipped in.

"It will?" He muttered to his partner.

"Yeah, you'll see," she smiled back.

"Okay, let's go, Nath." Alya pulled her partner towards the weapons closet.


	13. 12: Life [Part 3]

He walked into the headquarters, observing the complete silence. He searched for any person but he couldn't find any.

Until he found her.

"Chloe?" He knocked at her door.

Dropping her headphones, she smiled, "Hi, Adrien!"

"Where is everyone? And what are you working on?" Adrien inquired as he tried to peak at her desk from behind her.

"Hey, hey! No peakie!" Chloe warned, pointing a finger at him.

"Okay, okay!" He raised his hands in the air, giving up. "But where's everyone?"

"Honestly," she started, tapping a finger at her chin, "I haven't seen anyone. I was in the room all day though. Did you check their rooms? Or maybe the training room?"

"Yeah, I will. Later, Chlo." Adrien waved as he turned on his heels.

"Later," she muttered to his retreating figure. Turning around once again, she put on her headphones and resumed her work in peace.

* * *

"Stop playing defensive and act offensive a bit, will you?!" Nathaniel snarled, shooting his spinner once more.

"Sorry, Nath. Defensive is kinda my thing, you know!" Alya laughed back, blocking his throw.

"Alyaaaaa!"

"Nathaaaaaaniel!" she mocked.

His training-spinner clashed with her shield. 

* * *

"What can you hear?"

"I can most definitely hear them arguing." He opened his eyes to glance at her.

"Obviously, Nino," she sighed. "Concentrate on the deeper, subtle noises."

"Okay, okay! Sorry," he muttered, closing his eyes once again. "Um, I can hear the clashing of their weapons."

"Good. What else?"

Scrunching his eyebrows together, he concentrated for a moment before stating, "I can hear the shuffling of their feet."

" _Purr_ fect."

"I can hear your stupid puns- Ow!" Renard smirked before getting punched in the arm.

"Do you hear anything from outside the room?"

"Um," he hesitated, moving his ears around, "I think- I think I hear someone coming?"

The sound of shuffling feet stopped as they all heard an all known voice. "You're all training without me?!"

Renard opened his eyes as Alya and Nathaniel stopped sparring to look at the newcomer.

"About time you decided to show up."

"Hey!" Adrien dramatically threw a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "And to think that I was generous enough to get you all pastries from the bakery."

Different yells of gratitude were heard from across the room.

"Yup, I know! I'm everybody's savior!"

Turning his head to Marinette, Nino said, "I can't hear it."

Scrunching their eyebrows, multiple asked, "Can't hear what?" and "What's it?"

Meanwhile his partner in training calmly acknowledged his statement, "Hm?"

"I can't hear the modesty in his voice."

Everyone burst into laughter as she replied, "That is because there is none." She smirked, ignoring the outed 'Hey!' from the doorway.

"All of you are so mean," Adrien pouted.

"Suck it up, drama queen," Alya threw back.

Adrien opened his mouth but got interrupted before he could get a word out.

"Oh, so, here's everybody!" A cheery voice called out.

"Yeah, we came here to train and then Adrien later came and said he brought pastries-"

"Pastries?! Okay, people, ten minutes to change and come to the lounge!"

Chuckles were heard as someone said, "Now, that's more like it."

Everyone got up and left the training room, heading towards their respective quarters.

* * *

She entered her room once she detransformed.

"Payment time, buttercup! Give me my Camembert!"

Sighing half-heartedly, she turned around to fetch his beloved cheese when the black cat spoke again.

"CAMEMBERT!" Loud chews were heard.

She was about to turn to peak at Plagg when two arms encircled her waist.

Chuckling, she threw her head lightly behind and grabbed his wrists.

"Hey, Buggerboy."

She felt his warm breath on her neck as he chuckled lightly.

"Hey, Kitty."

Throwing a side glance at Plagg, she muttered, "Figures he'll yell out of joy for a Camembert pastry."

He smiled and asked, "So, how was today?"

"It was," she paused, "...as usual."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Adrien hummed.

"Eh, well," she twisted in his arms to face him and placed her palms on his cheeks, "Enough about me, how are your parents?"

"My parents? Okay, so look, the second I arrived, they started interrogating me about _everything_. After that, they showed me their new secret recipe and then we went back upstairs to-"

Marinette smiled as he continued to happily ramble. She observed how his green eyes lightened, how his blonde hair bounces off his forehead as he moves, and how he was still holding her throughout his talk. She mused about how lucky she was to have him.

She interrupted him with a peck on his lips.

"Sorry to interrupted," she started as he confusedly glanced at her, "But I need to take a shower and you need to change."

He pouted at her but, though he looked adorable, they had pastries waiting for them. Though if they were too late, the food may no longer be there for mysterious reasons...

"Alright," he gave her lips a peck, "I'll see you in the lounge." Adrien turned on his heels and left her room.

Smiling to herself, she grabbed her towel and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

"So," a voice called out from his room's doorway, "you and Mari are fine now?"

He looked up from his laptop to peak at the doorway. Standing there, leaning against the wall, was Alya with her hair slightly wet and an oversized shirt.

"Oh, hey, Al. Yeah, Mari and I are cool now."

She picked herself up and headed to sit on the bed next to him. "Great! It's kinda annoying when you two argue or something..."

Giving an awkward smile, he replied, "Uh, yeah..."

"So, whatcha working on?" Alya asked, leaning back slightly to glance at his screen.

"Nothing much, just waiting for- Hey! No peakie!" Nino called out after he side glanced her and noticed her looking at his screen.

She bounced, "Ooo! Does this mean you finally found an ideal way to record the battles?"

"Yeah-"

"Awesome! What is it? Can you show me?"

Giving her a smooth smile, he answered, "Nope anddddd nope. You're gonna find out next akuma attack."

"Aw, man. Not cool, dude." She made a show of pouting and looking away.

Putting his laptop off his lap and onto the side, he took her chin with his hand to turn her head around and kissed her.

"You know I love you?" Nino asked once their lips parted.

Alya rested her forehead on his and replied, "I love you, too. But," she quickly got off the bed and offered him her hand, "We need to get going or else Nath is gonna eat all the sweets."

"Yeah, let's go," he snorted.

It was as they said, Nathaniel and Chloe were the first in the lounge. After that, the kwamis took their place in their tiny made house corner. Alya and Marinette stepped inside next. The latecomers, as always, were Nino and Adrien.

The girls set out the dishes meanwhile the boys picked a movie to watch.

Soon, they were all laughing and eating.

In the end of the day, they had fun with their friends, who slowly turned out to be family, and managed to stop Plagg from eating all the Camembert or biting someone.

As the night laid out, they slowly drifted to sleep, enjoying a rare peaceful night.

Although it may not stay so peaceful when Max comes later only to find out they didn't leave him any desserts.


	14. 13: Combos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akuma attack, team realizes something wrong in their so-called dynamic, short discussion. The usual jazz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, n o w we're getting started ;3
> 
> Also, I didn't include a chapter summary for all the previous chapters because they were ridiculously short (yes I'm still judging you my past self-) and totally not worth a summary.

_"LOOK OUT!"_

Frantic yowls filled the city of love as everyone tried to escape the perimeters containing the sixty-foot beast. Standing off to the side, Chatte observed as he roared, slamming his arm into the side of a building, causing it to plummet. The people rushed off the streets, dodging the debris. She noticed a piece of metal nearing two young boys. She scrambled to their side and tackled them away.

A woman - probably their mother - hurried to them and, after checking on the kids, glanced at her gratefully. "Thank you."

She nodded in response as she gestured them forward, away from the chaos. Turning around, she twisted just in time to duck under an upcoming rock.

Blinking, Chatte gazed to her right, viewing King Bee just as he helped some civilians to rush off.

_"Why do people get akumatized at ungodly hours?"_

Pushing herself up, she groaned, "B, you've been saying that for the last thirty minutes. Our answer won't change-"

_"Yeah! It's not like it's up to US or as if we know why and we aren't telling you-"_

_"Actually, CN, it's been an hour."_

The team had woken up at four in the morning because of the alert sirens. Frowning slightly, she thought of how they have been fending off this akuma for the past hour (apparently, according to Max). They didn't have many options left as most of them have already summoned their powers. The team was running out of time as well as of patience. She didn't apprehend why it took them so long and yet they didn't catch the akuma.

She watched Ladbug and Carapace as they attempted to take the akuma down but got flinged into opposite directions. Ladbug landed next to her with a grunt. She helped him up, thinking out loud, "This isn't working."

"We need a new strategy." Then, he raised an eyebrow, questioning, "You okay?'

Gesturing to the rest of the team, she threw back an "Is anyone okay?"

She was right. They all got tossed around like puppets. No one would be surprised if they got a concussion at this point, he hummed.

Wait a minute-

"Whenever one of us tried to land a hit, we got hurled," he pondered aloud.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," she huffed, clutching her baton in a hand and turning on her heels to get back into combat.

He set a hand on her shoulder, making her throw him a look over her shoulder. When she noticed the glimmer in his eyes, she fully turned raising an eyebrow with a "What?"

"We need a new strategy," he smirked.

* * *

His back clashed with the brick wall, making him moan just as he touched down.

A hand helped him up and when he looked up he saw Ladbug who pushed him encouragingly towards the akuma, shouting, "Distract him, will ya?!"

And he disappeared.

Distract him? What has he been doing-

Sighing to himself, Renard launched himself back at the akuma, noting from the corner of his eye how Ladbug pulled Carapace to the side, leaving a displeased King Bee. 

He could hear them talking over the comm line but he had had enough with this akuma - yeah, they didn't get a name or even a word from him despite an hour passing. They didn't have any options left so he hoped that whatever Ladbug was planning would work out.

The akuma kicked him in the chest (ouch, that's gonna bruise suit or no suit), shooting him into an advancing King Bee. They both hit with concrete with a start.

"This is awful- Get off me, fox!" Bee growled while shoving Renard off.

Renard gracefully rolled onto his foot and stared down at his teammate. "Listen, bud, you're not the only one pissed around here, but all we can do is distract this giant fella while Lad gets his plan done." They were all tired, sleepy, and sick of this.

Huffing, Bee got up and firmly stated, "Let's get this over with."

One moment, they were fending themselve against the akuma. The other, they watched as Ladbug's plan unfolded.

_"Ready?"_

_"As I'll ever be, LB."_ Came in Chatte's voice.

 _"Yuppies, dude!"_ They heard Carapace's reply.

Turning to look towards their left, they observed as Carapace pumped her shield and nodded at Ladbug whose yoyo was wrapped around her ankle. Ladbug suddenly twirled around, spinning her with him as they gained momentum.

 _"You know what they say! The bigger they are..."_ Ladbug started.

He let go of his yoyo, projecting Carapace, who braced herself for impact, at the unsuspecting akuma.

 _"SHELL-TER!"_ Carapace cried out, forming a spherical force field around her as she clashed with the akuma.

 _"The harder they fall!"_ Chatte continued from somewhere behind the beast.

The akuma tumbled backwards, successfully tripping over Chatte's extended baton across the buildings. He growled as he hit his hand on the concrete and fell unconscious.

There was a moment of silence before the three of them started cheering and high-fiving.

Bee and Renard were left gaping before Renard snapped out of it.

"Max, tell me you got THAT on camera!"

_"You know it, amigo-"_

_"That. Was. DOPEEE!"_ Chloe interrupted.

Checking out of the corner of his eye that Chatte and Lad were capturing the akuma, he turned to Carapace who was approaching him.

"That is your awesome idea? Have Max film for you?"

Smirking, he gestured to the sky, "Not exactly. Our bud Max over there is only controlling the drone to ensure it captures the battle and doesn't get destroyed."

She strained her neck to glance up at the drone. As promised, it was above them with a good couple of feet. She whistled, "Fancy, dude."

After they heard Ladbug purify the akuma, the people started emerging out of their hiding spots to cheer and applaud for them. Sparing a glance to each other, they laughed and playfully bowed or waved.

* * *

"No concussion. You're good to go."

"Finally! Can I go back to sleep now?"

They were back at the headquarters, specifically the medbay, treating any bruises or scrapes and checking for concussions, which surprisingly none of them did have. Adrien and Marinette were sitting on a cot. Alya was standing next to Nino who was leaning on the wall. Nathaniel and Master Fu were surrounding the other cot while Chloe and Max were hovering by the door.

"Yes-" Master Fu started, having been the one to check up on all of them.

"But guys, wait. One last thing," Adrien interrupted, causing them all to turn towards him. "What happened today was because of insufficient training-"

"Insufficient? We train basically everyday!" Nathaniel scowled.

Crossing her arms, Marinette stated, "Individually or in pairs. Never a team as a whole."

Nodding, Adrien continued, "Don't get me wrong, we work well together but we don't function as a team."

Alya shifted to her other leg before adding, "You saw what happened today. We only tried taking him down individually and failed miserably until we working together as a unit."

"We're trained but inexperienced when it comes to the whole team," Nino concluded.

"Well," Chloe stated, "Some certain people function extraordinarily when it comes to teamups."

"But that's because LB and I have been working side by side for much longer," Marinette explained as Adrien hummed.

"So, basically, what we need to do is learn some combos?" Alya questioned, sparing each of them a glance.

They all shared a look before Adrien shrugged, "Basically."

"Cool."

Nathaniel stood up, starting, "Well, now that's over with, excuse me, I have to go get my-"

"Your what? Beauty sleep?" Nino grinned.

Nathaniel all but huffed and stomped through the doorway.

"I better go get Plagg his 'lovely Camembert' before he comes here barking."

Adrien smiled, "Night, Mari."

"Night? It's 7 am," she replied, smirking. She got off the cot and left with him soon trailing.

Chloe turned around with a "Good night, people!" before heading to her room.

"Alright, off to bed, everyone!" Max waved over his shoulder while he walked through the door.

Nino rushed out after him. "Hey, Max! Before you sleep, can you-"

"It's already on your laptop, buddy."

"Max, you're the best!"

Chuckling to herself, Alya said, "Well, I'm gonna go back sure he eventually sleeps." She gave a tiny finger wave before heading out.

Master Fu smiled to himself as he stroked his beard, muttering, "Children."


	15. 14: Past...is Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip down the memory lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case that it's confusing - italics are flashbacks/memory.

She steadily sat on her bed, crisscrossing her legs and placed the book she was carrying on her lap. She traced the shape of the hard cover before blowing off the dust.

Marinette unlocked the book's clasp and turned over the first page.

This book was one of the items she recovered from her old room when she stumbled upon her... _him_ , but the book was worth it. It wasn't any book, either. It was an album of photos that mainly included her mother.

She barely had any picture of her mother at her apartment. That's why she had to get this album back.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and flipped through the thick pages until she reached a...special photo. A younger her was smiling back at her with a tooth missing while she had her mother's arms wrapped around her neck. Little-her had chocolate on her right cheek and flour all over her clothes and hair. Her mom also had gotten some smudges, but it was nothing compared to little-her's. It was taken after a nine-year-old her tried to bake a cake for her mother's birthday. She remembers the day distinctly. She had gotten up extra early that day to get everything ready before her mom woke up. There had been a few obstacles and a couple of casualties and by the time her mother stepped into the kitchen, she had even the ceiling covered in flour and other ingredients. As soon as she saw her mother walk in, she turned around and gave the cheekiest smile ever.

Her mom took everything in with her eyes and, instead of scolding her, burst in giggles and she approached her child to hug her. Of course, that didn't happen without getting some chocolate dough on herself too, but she didn't mind. Then, she had gotten up and told her to stay still. She later came back with a camera took this silly shot of them.

Marinette's fingers traced her mother's features as she gave a soft smile at the memory.

She continued flicking the thick pages till she stumbled upon a a photo of an older her with him. They were dressed in black as it was after her mother disappeared...after the funeral.

It happened about a year ago, but she can still clearly recall what happened as if it were yesterday. How shocked she was to discover that Hawkmoth was...him-

_"...Father?"_

How he didn't seem that surprised that she's Chatte Noire-

_"Marinette. Of course, my child is the one of the great protectors of Paris."_

How the others were taken back. How they were all taken back. How Ladbug tried to offer his support. How she didn't get-

_"How-"_

How she didn't get-

_"Why?"_

_"For us. For your mot-"_

A knock jolted her out of her thoughts.

She cleared her throat and gave a soft "Come in."

She looked up as the door slid open and the light shone into the room from the hallway. Adrien walked in as the door slid shut.

"Good morning," he smiled and stood by the foot of her bed.

"Morning?" Marinette smirked, "More like afternoon or evening."

He chuckled lightly, "Semantics. Whatcha doing?" He nodded his head towards her book.

"Oh," she paused while she glanced down to the now closed book, "Just...Just checking out some pictures."

"Oh?" Adrien hummed as he peeked at cover and realized he didn't recognize it. "Is that...uh... one of the stuff you were getting from...?" He trailed off.

Running her fingers through the bumps of the cover, she absentmindedly replied, "Yeah..."

It was silent for a moment before Marinette got up and returned the book back to her bag.

"Anyways, the guys wanna go out to eat some pizza, you coming?" Adrien asked as he stuffed his hands into his jeans' pockets.

"Pizza, ha? For breakfast?"

"I thought you were the one who said it isn't morning," he grinned.

Stepping closer to him, she answered, "Well, technically it isn't but we just woke up because akumas just _LOVE_ us."

He opened his mouth to respond but before he could, Tikki phased in through the door.

"Good morning!"

"It's 5 pm, people," she muttered under her breath but Adrien chuckled, meaning he heard her. "Hey, Tiks!"

"Hi, Mari!" She nuzzled her cheek. Then, she gazed around and asked, "Where's Plagg?"

Cupping her hand around the tiny kwami, she replied, "Plagg? Oh, Plagg has been sleeping in the drawer ever since...well, ever since this morning."

Knocking at the door interrupted them as someone - Alya - yelled over the door, "You dudes coming or what?"

"Go, wait for me outside with them. Just give me a minute," she told Adrien as she laid Tikki down on his shoulder.

"Alright, don't take long or else Nath will stat being dramatic again." He pecked her lips as she giggled softly. Tikki waved while Adrien stepped out of the door.

She reappeared in the lounge with a green hoodie and a hungry kwami.

"You sure you don't want to come, Master Fu? Or don't want us to pick something up for you?" Chloe asked.

"I am sure, my dear. Enjoy yourselves. You've been working hard lately," Master Fu smiled and headed back inside.

"Well? Come on, Mari's here. What are we waiting for?" Nathaniel impatiently interrupted.

They walked to the pizza place and took a table outdoors. They started choosing what they'll order.

_"For us? For...Mom? What do you mean-"_

While they waited for their pizza, Nino kept showing them his blog and how his readers reacted to the filming of the battle.

_"With the ladybug and black cat - the yin and yang - miraculouses, I can bring your mother back to us. We'd be a family ag-"_

_"What's the cost?"_

The pizza came as Alya played her latest music piece.

_"Excuse me?"_

They each reached out to take a slice, occasionally casually dipping one into the box with the kwamis under the table.

_"What's the price? The downside? The other boot? There has to be a negative effect for this to happen."_

Max started discussing ways they can update their systems while the others suggested ideas when they could.

_"Downside? Don't you want your mother back?"_

_"I do. But that's not the way. We don't even know what happened to her and we don't even have her body-"_

_"We do."_

Sipping on her drink, Chloe opened the topic of their first anniversary as a whole team with the headquarters and how they should totally throw a party.

_"...W-What?"_

_"We have everything we need. Join me and we can fix our family."_

Reaching out to take another slice of pizza, Nathaniel complained about how oily it is. As Nino threatened to touch Nathaniel with his greasy hands, everyone burst into laughter.

_Out of the corner of her eyes, she can see the others standing stiffly, waiting for her response...waiting for what will happen next._

_She can already tell she made her final decision and..._

_"No."_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"No to all that."_

_"Don't you want us to be a family again? Don't you want her back? Do you know how much we'll all be happy together?"_

_"Do_ you _know how she'll feel when she knows she's the cause of someone else's suffering? Or some form of evil present afterwards?"_

She felt a light tug at her sleeve. She gazed down and found Plagg looking at her with his green eyes, tilting his head to the side.

"Hey," Adrien whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

_"It won't matter-"_

_"It will to_ her _."_

_"This is your last chance. Join me or you'll regret it."_

Watching as the others snickered at something Alya said, Marinette glanced down at Plagg then turned to Adrien, breathing, "Yeah..."

She lightly scratched Plagg's head with her nail and gave Adrien a soft smile.

_Turning to look at her teammates- her friends, she noticed them all taking fighting stances. Looking back at him, she took out her baton and expanded it._

_"Never in a million years."_

_"So be it."_

She did make her final decision back then, and...

Staring around at her teammates- her friends- her family, she's sure it's the right one.

_...and she knew it's the right one._


	16. 15: Mega-something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, yet another akuma that no one actually remembers his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As copied from Wattpad - just to make sure everyone is aware:
> 
> Side note: I'm not sure if I said this before or if it's obvious enough so I'm just gonna state it now for sure. Quoted words in italics mean that some teammate is talking and they can hear them from the comm line only. :3

She groaned.

She had a late night photo shoot. To make matters worse, it was after an akuma attack. So, while her teammates rested, charged up, and lived their lives, she was stuck here in the middle of the night with a whining Plagg who she shoved into her bag with a piece of Camembert in his face and a warning glance.

Seriously, _why_ was she still doing those dumb shoots?

Right...she used to do them for...well for him, but, now...Now, she does them to clear up her family name after everything he did. Even with all her feelings towards him, she owed it to her mom to clear up their family name and raise it back up high.

Sighing softly, Marinette shifted to another pose, complying with the camera man's instructions.

* * *

She groaned again.

She had another late night photo shoot. That made it two in a row! And to top all that, it was freaking cold, but she was obliged to wear a sleeveless, knee-length dress that did not help with the weather.

What's her fault that the guy wanted a starry night sky for the shoot?

It couldn't get worse. At least Plagg isn't whining like last night.

And _what_ was it with the camera man and spaghetti exactly?!

* * *

She got an hour of sleep before they got an alert of an akuma attack downtown. Boy, was she ready to kill someone...

And the cherry on top? It's raining. Yay!

* * *

This was bad. The whole team was irritated since this was yet another battle at an ungodly hour. But her dudette...she looked like she would kill someone and that was bad. Alya recalled her dudette complaining to her about late night shoots or something like that. She sympathized her friend.

The akuma was a walking electrical torch, literally. They found him wrecking an old electrical shop. He kept shocking them whenever any of them got close enough to get a look at him. They were losing their patience and Chloe yawning into the comm line was so not helping.

The akuma- wait, he dropped his name some time in the start. What was it? Something with 'M'...Mathew? No, an akuma can't be named Mathew. Magnetic Guy? Nah, he wasn't magnetic.

Megamind? Eh, she'll just call him Megamind. He reminds her of him. Minus the giant bald blue head, the guy totally stole his look. The overly dramatic and freakish style, the high collar, the cape, and the spikes. The guy's got it all. Anyhoo...

So, Megamind was floating in mid-air - as if it wasn't already hard enough to reach him - and had an electric sphere thingy surrounding him.

What were they doing? Oh, getting blasted and just chilling on the ground, staring at him.

"Are we just gonna stare at the guy?!" Chatte yelled from her left to the others.

Bee, getting up from the ground opposite to them, threw back, _"Got an idea, genius?"_

She huffed, "Well, no, but someone do something!"

Ladbug dropped down next to them. "Girls and Renard, distract him. Bee, you're with me."

Carapace nodded, strolling forward. "Come on, Chatte." Said girl followed her, dragging her baton across the concrete.

"Light bulb! Do you mind cooling it down a bit? It's kinda the middle of the night!" Chatte taunted.

Gripping her shield tighter, she continued, "Seriously, dude, you're burning our eyes. Are you competing with the freaking sun?!"

Megamind turned to look at them, eyes flaring as Renard came to her right.

"You know, girls, I'm pretty sure Lad said to distract him not get roasted."

Chatte smirked, "Same difference, RR."

She could hear Ladbug and Bee planning from the comm link, but she tuned them out. Megamind chuckled, twirling his hand around as he charged a blast. "Adorable."

Ado- Wait, what?! Did he just call hem adorable? The hell?

She met her friends' unimpressed gazes as they dashed in opposite directions while she slid forward to dodge the blast.

"You did _not_ just call us adorable?!" Carapace called out.

"I did." Oh, the nerve this guy had. That's it, he lost his honorary name. She actually liked Megamind. Now, she's gonna call him Mega-ego.

Mega-ego was aiming his hands towards the ground- Why was he about to blast the floor-

"He's gonna electrify the water!"

 _"Get off the ground!"_ Max yelled into the comms at the same time Chatte did.

They dashed off as the electrical pulse was nearing the rain puddles on the street. She landed on the fire escape stairs of some nearby building in an alley. She glanced around for her teammates. Chatte was perched on a balcony's railings with Renard behind her. What about-

She squinted her eyes and spotted two figures. Oh, they were already on a rooftop.

Time for offend instead of defend.

She threw her shield like a boomerang at Mega-ego, succeeding in distracting him to cut out electrifying the water.

Carapace hopped down, catching her shield, and landing in a crouch. She jumped up, launching herself at the floating dude. He sent an electric pulse her way, causing her to slide under him. She ran towards a dumpster and, leaping onto it, twirled in mid-air, striking again with her shield.

It hit him in the back, but, as she landed properly on the dumpster, instead of her shield returning back to her, he caught it. Mega-ego tossed it back at her with a tingle of electricity. She didn't have time to dodge and, as a result, it smacked her off the dumpster.

She must have had blacked out for a second or something because one moment she was groaning on the ground and the other there were screams of agony and yells of worry.

_"Chatte!"_

_"CN!"_

She lifted her head off the ground and saw Mega-dude holding Chatte above the concrete by her wrist and electrifying her whole body. She tried to get up as Chatte stopped screaming and went limp. Mega-ego threw Chatte at Renard, who was dashing towards them, and turned around to attack LB and KB, who were approaching from behind.

Carapace got up and headed towards her friends who were tumbled on the ground. Before she reached them, Renard sat up while holding Chatte so she wouldn't fall.

 _"Renard, is she-"_ Chloe started.

 _"She's okay,"_ Renard interrupted, placing a hand on Chatte's head after checking her pulse, _"Unconscious, but okay."_

She heard Chloe and Max sigh in relief over the comms. She glanced at Ladbug and Bee as they dodged a giant charge. Then- Oh, no, Mega was about to charge in opposite directions; at LB with KB and...RR and CN!

She dashed in front of her fallen friends and called out, "Shell-ter!" - just in time for the electricity (and the rain) to bounce off her force field.

"LB, we need a plan and quick!" Renard said from behind her and, when she turned to look at him, smiled his gratitude. Mega-ego kept blasting the semi-sphered force field and sighed in frustration when he realized nothing was happening. He turned around and floated to their other two teammates outside the force field.

 _"Bee, cover me!"_ She perceived that Ladbug called out for his Lucky Charm somewhere in the alleys opposite to them.

"Whatcha get, dude?" Carapace asked as she peered at Bee running over the rooftops.

_"Uh, jumping shoes- Wait, that's it!"_

"That's what?"

_"Bee, we'll need you to immobilize him with your Venom."_

_"Um, excuse me, how am i supposed to do that without getting fried?!"_

_"Renard and I will distract him and you take the shot when you can. Carapace, you'll stay with Chatte."_

She nodded, "You got it, dude."

"Got your back, LB," Renard reassured.

As soon as the force field was lowered, the rain fell on top of their heads. Renard handed her Chatte and grabbed his flute then dashed to help Ladbug.

Watching as the others fought Mega-head, she moved to under the fire escape stairs to shelter Chatte and herself from the pounding rain. She stroked her friend's wet hair, whispering, "Come on, CN. We need you."

She looked up when she heard loud noises.

 _"Ven-"_ Bee was in the middle of summoning his power when Ladbug yelled, _"Bee, look out!"_

Even with RR and LB distracting Mega-ego, he noticed King behind him and turned to strike him. She observed as Ladbug pushed Bee, who didn't notice the attack coming, and got hit instead of him.

They rolled on the ground before halting to a stop.

_"Ladbug!"_

_"Bee, is he okay?"_

_"The only one with a proper plan! Dammit!"_

She got snapped from the conversations happening on the comm link when she heard a groan and Chatte stirred.

Alya glanced down and placed her hand on Chatte's cheek. "CN, you with me?"

"Ugh, what the heck happened? Did you take the number of the bus that hit me?"

"Typical. Are you okay, dudette?"

Lifting a hand to her forehead, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking. "Uh, yeah. Just a killer headache."

"Can you continue with the fight? We need all the help we can," she stated softly as she helped her sit up.

"Think so. Fill me in?" Chatte grinned.

"Light bulb guy blasted you real hard. LB said Bee had to Venom the guy but LB just got shot down."

Chatte jumped to her feet, "That's it!"

She groaned, "Not you too! That's what?"

"Fill you in on the way," she winked as she dashed off but suddenly stopped and looked around. "Where's my baton?"

* * *

"Bee! You okay?" Someone, no wait - he squinted - Renard helped him up.

"I'm good- What about Ladbug?" He turned his head to look at his teammate next to him on the ground.

"He's knocked out."

Bee grunted, "What now?"

"Now," they turned around and saw the girls dodging attacks, heading towards them. "We scatter!"

Chatte landed on his left and dragged him by the wrist. He saw from the corner of his eye Carapace doing the same with Renard.

"What are you doing?" Bee yelled to Chatte as they ran off.

She shouted back, "Plan B!"

He pulled his wrist out of her grasp to dodge a blast. "Which is?"

"Distracting till they get ready and you do your magic!" Chatte answered while darting over a car and leaping off.

Do his magic- Wait, what?

He thought he saw her smiling at his confusion when they crossed paths again.

 _"Gotta tell you, CN, this is crazy,"_ Renard said over the comms.

"I know! That's why it's so great!"

What the hell was she getting them into?!

_"Mirage!"_

Suddenly, there were copies of the four of them everywhere. The akuma started and charged everywhere, but he managed to hit only the illusions. Ha, now, they had him even properly distracted. Slight problem though; he lost track of the real Chatte.

"Chatte?" He called out.

A hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind a car. "Your majesty?"

He groaned, "Couldn't you have just filled me in?"

She chuckled- _chuckled!_ She's got some nerve!

"Nah, it's more fun this way!"

He slapped the back of her head.

"Ow! Anyhoo, it's showtime!"

* * *

There were copies of them everywhere. He turned to Carapace. "Now what?"

"Now," she paused to grab something off the floor, "You wear these, RR." She shoved them into his hands. He glanced down and-

"You've got to be kidding."

The jumping shoes.

"Do I look like I'm joking around?" Carapace remarked, though she had a tiny smile on her face.

"Ugh, fineee!" He hastily put them on. "Now?"

"Now, we wait for CN and B to bring Mega-ego to us," she replied, turning around.

"Mega-ego?" Renard questioned.

"Oh," she turned back, "That's what I call him. I forgot his name," she said sheepishly.

Huh, the name does suit him, he mused.

 _"You guys ready?"_ Chatte's voice came over the comm line.

"Go ahead, Chatte!"

Out of all the illusions, it was obvious to them who were the real Chatte Noire and King Bee. They skidded to a stop next to them.

"He was a little _too_ distracted to follow us back here, but once he locked eyes on us, it was easy to get him."

True to Bee's words, the aku- Mega-ego, as Alya dubbed him, appeared in between them and started charging at them.

They skidded into positions - Chatte and himself in front of Mega-ego and behind him are Bee and Carapace. They dodged a few blasts before deeming it was time.

He gestured to Bee before they both slid under the floating man (doesn't he ever fight hand-to-hand on the ground like normal people?) and dashed towards the girls. Carapace prepped her shield and braced. He jumped onto her shield and bounced back at Mega-ego, with the help of the jumping shoes and Carapace who pushed him up.

He heard more than saw as Chatte gave Bee a boost up with her baton. "Venom!"

He reached out to grasp Mega-ego's cape. As Renard jumped over Mega-ego, he pulled the cape over the akuma's head, blinding him. At the same time, Bee threw his spinning top at Mega-mind, immobilizing him. They both landed in a crouch in opposite sides as Mega-mind crashed onto the ground.

They heard clapping. He turned his head to the direction of the noise.

"Ladbug!" Chatte rushed to his side. "Are you okay?"

Hugging her shortly, he answered, "Peachy. You?"

She gently brushed his hand off her shoulder. "Yah, I'm alright. Just super tired."

He watched as Ladbug sent her a glance - obviously meaning they'll talk later. He tuned out the rest of their conversation as he took off the shoes and turned to Carapace.

"I've always wanted to try this," he started, gaining her attention. He threw the shoes into the air, screaming, "MIRACULOUS LADBUG!"

But, as expected, nothing happened and the shoes came tumbling down onto his face as everyone burst into laughing.

"Found it! The akuma is, very ironically, in his boots," Bee announced.

"Is that why he was floating the whole time?" Carapace and himself asked at the same time before glancing at each other and chuckling.

Bee took the boots and handed them to Chatte. "Would you do the honors?"

Smiling tiredly, she murmured, "Cataclysm." The boots disintegrated into ashes, freeing the akuma that Ladbug purified. Then, Ladbug extended his hand towards him, silently asking for the jumping shoes.

Huffing, he handed them over and watched as Ladbug properly repaired all the damage done.

From his right, Bee spoke up, "Can we go now? I barely got four hours of sleep and I need a hot shower after all this rain."

"I think we all do," Carapace murmured as Chatte barked a laugh, making everyone turn to her, startled.

"You got four hours and you're complaining?" At Bee's questioning look, she continued, "I barely got a freaking hour."

They all stared at her for a moment before Bee muttered, "Wow."

"Yeah, 'wow'. So, can we head back already?"  
  
  
  


"Wow! They actually slept!"

She started awake, barely aware of Max doing the same next to her. Chloe turned to the entrance of the room and saw the team standing there.

"Sorry, guys," she yawned, "We were watching the fight from here, but I guess we fell asleep..."

"Sorry, was the fight too boring for you? We'll make sure the next attack isn't as boring," one of them said. Gosh, she was too tired she didn't even register who was talking.

"It's not like that, you guys-" she started as they turned around to head to their rooms, but she got interrupted.

"Let them be, Chlo," Max told her softly before raising his voice and saying, "Don't forget you guys! Training at seven o'clock in the morning!"

Wow, one of the guys actually threw his shoe at Max. And she thought she heard Marinette saying something about not waking her up unless the world was collapsing...?

She shrugged that thought off and went to her room to continue sleeping.

* * *

Fresh out of shower, his hair slightly dripping water and holding a sleeping Tikki, he softly knocked on her door. "Mari?"

When he got no response, he opened the door using the control panel to his left. Adrien stepped into the room as the light from the hallway shone through the room. Marinette was sleeping on her bed, with Plagg resting on the pillow beside her head.

He gently sat on the edge of the bed and laid down Tikki next to Plagg, who sleepily wrapped his tail around her. He lightly brushed her hair and she stirred.

"Adrien?" Marinette murmured tiredly.

"Hey, go back to sleep. I was just checking on you," he whispered as he brushed a wisp of hair away from her face, frowning when he felt some heat radiating off her forehead.

She sleepily nodded- or at least he thinks she did.

"I think you're coming down with a cold." She made no indication of hearing him so he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, kitty." He left Tikki with Plagg and headed to his own room to sleep at last.


	17. 16: Timelines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some reminiscing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Another note from Wattpad that seems important)
> 
> Quick reminder: The only people switched are Mari, Adrien, Nino, Alya, Chloe, and Nath.  
> As in like, when I refer to Nino's sisters, I mean Alya's twin sisters on the actual show; Ella and Etta Césaire. :D

Adrien strolled into the training room - a good thirty minutes late. Why couldn't they battle to save the city at a normal hour? He internally groaned. Looking around the room, he found only Alya sitting on the counter and talking to Wayzz.

When she noticed him, she gave a soft smile and greeted, "Good morning, Adrien!" Wayzz gave a small wave as he sipped on his green tea.

Smiling back, he replied, "Good morning- Hey, where's everybody?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just came here, but I do know that Nino has to babysit his sisters so he left."

He hummed, "And Mari's dead to the world plus she has a fever."

Alya slightly frowned and commented, "Harsh. Poor her."

"Good morning, guys!" They turned and noticed Chloe in the hallway. She raised an eyebrow. "Where are the rest?"

"Dead," Alya deadpanned, causing Chloe to raise another eyebrow.

"Okaaaay?"

Stifling a laugh, he suddenly realized, "Wait, what about Nath?"

"No idea," Chloe answered. "Wow, you're the only ones who showed up?"

"I'll go look for Nath," he volunteered.

Wayzz floated up, stating, "As I will seek the kwamis."

Chloe bounced, "Oo! Al, can you spar with me meanwhile?"

"Sure."

"Alright then, come on, Wayzz," he turned around, heading towards the door, "See you in a bit!"

Stepping out of the room with Wayzz zooming ahead of him, he heard the girls shuffle around before a loud yell made him pause for a second. "You better not be escaping training, Mister Bug!"

Adrien shook his head and chuckled. Really, Alya?

* * *

Master Fu was flicking through his old books in the library, attempting to locate a recipe that may assist them. It's truly devastating that they have to go through all this again.

They defeated Hawkmoth about a year and a half ago. It was arduous for all of them. Especially after discovering who Hawkmoth really was. Loyalties and friendships were being tested and put on the line. At the end, everything worked out, but, while they were negotiating over the next step, Gabriel Agreste escaped. The team tried to hunt for him; however, it seemed as if he disappeared. At least they still had the butterfly miraculous.

That was until a year ago. The butterfly miraculous, which was kept in a safe, went missing almost a year ago without starting any of the alarms. A month later, they finally tracked down Gabriel. It was a surprise to learn that he wasn't the one to steal the butterfly miraculous. A more shocking surprise was when Gabriel informed them that they couldn't arrest him since they had no proof of him ever being Hawkmoth. His complacence as he told them only irritated them further.

They started working on their headquarters when Max and Chloe officially joined them. The next two months were spent trying to gather any evidence enough to get justice and when they eventually did, Gabriel went into hiding and dodged custody. Still, at least the truth was revealed to the world.

A week later, an akuma was sighted for the first time in nine months. Everyone attempted to track down the source, but they weren't much successful as things were quiet for three more months. During which there were few covert appearances of Gabriel.

When the akumas did return, they were rare - almost once or twice a month only. That was up to last month when the akumas started coming out almost regularly and at late hours (as the team was so fond of complaining about).

They still didn't find any clues as to who is the new user or what were their motives. But whatever it was the new user was after, they plan on reaching it sooner than later.

A knock on the library's door startled him from his thoughts. "Master Fu?"

Closing the book he was skimming through, he responded, "Yes?"

The door was pushed open to reveal Adrien. "Can you check on Marinette? She has a fever, so..." he trailed off.

Standing up and placing the book back on the shelf, he nodded with a smile. "Of course."

They're going to win this war. He's sure of it, because no matter what happens, they've got each others' backs.

* * *

Chloe stepped out of the fresh shower she took after she finished sparring with Alya. Even though she doesn't have a miraculous, she liked being ready for anything. This was proved useful the couple of times she went into the field with the team as backup or to help with civilians. Besides, she enjoyed sparring with her friends, so she usually jumped onto any chance she got. She wasn't picky when it came to weapons, but she worked best with escrima sticks.

After changing into a green shirt and an overall, she sat on the edge of her bed to comb her hair.

She mused over the fact that they've been a team for almost a year now. She was totally serious when she suggested them throwing a party. It's a tradition. You can't just ignore anniversaries. That's cruel!

Chloe hummed. Speaking of their anniversary, this reminded her of how she jumped aboard Team Miraculous (as she liked to call them, but sadly not everyone appreciated the name...hmph).

It was around a year ago (Shocker! Right?). Al, Mari and herself were at the bowling center. Everything was fine until Mari yelped and when Chloe turned to look at her after her turn, Marinette threw a slight glare at Alya and questioned why she pinched her. Al slightly frowned for a second before sticking out her tongue at her friend. Then, when Mar was picking up the chosen ball, she frowned, put it down, and reached out to another ball in the corner.

Another ball that had scrapes all over it.

But as Mari twirled it around, they noticed it wasn't some random scribbling. _'We know who you are'_ was scratched onto the bowling ball. Chloe raised an eyebrow and observed as her two friends shared a glance...A glance that almost seemed worried...Weird.

 _"What? Is this some secret message to someone or some weird kid?"_ She remembered saying. They laughed nervously and agreed that it's probably some messed up kid.

They moved on and continued playing. Nothing unusual happened again till when they went to check the monitor for the scores. Instead of Alya and Mari's scores being shown like hers were, the same words were presented. _'We know who you are'._

_"What's that, you guys? You some superheroes and you didn't tell me?"_

She said it casually, expecting some laughs, but in reality, when she gazed at them, Chloe noted their frowns and the look on their faces.

She stifled a giggle when she recalled how their faces were. If she wasn't so focused on the tiny detail that her friends were the city's heroes, she would have laughed.

 _"Oh my god...You TOTALLY are!"_ She remembered saying before they quickly hushed her. They hastily left the place and headed to Al's apartment where they called the others (including Max who was already in on the secret...though she's not sure how exactly) for an emergency meeting and explained everything to her.

It had been an issue and still is because they never solved the mystery. Chloe frowned remembering that tiny detail. She puzzled over who could know their identities and still hasn't revealed themselves for a whole year. Was it the new Hawky? Whoever that was...Or do they have another problem to deal with...

She dropped her comb and started braiding her hair. So far, they've got a new Hawky to deal with, someone out there who knows their identity, the mystery of the peacock miraculous, and handling the whole Gabriel Agreste issue...

She briefly wondered where was Max. Well, if everyone was scattered today, this was gonna be a good chance to paint for a while.

She got up and prepared her tools.


	18. 17: They Mean Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some friends meet up, and Nino has a message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendship is magic <3

Nathaniel sauntered across the pavement, heading towards the park. The sun was shining its rays onto the horizon. The day was slightly warm, but it was getting better as summer was ending.

The imbeciles he had as teammates wanted to train at six freaking am after fighting Mr. lightbulb.

He had woken up at six, but only to head to his father's hotel and sleep till noon. Now, he was strolling around the block to reach the park he and Sabrina had agreed to meet at. Yeah, Sabrina and him were still the closest of friends. He's going to have to admit that in the past he didn't exactly treat her reputably, but that was before he truly became dedicated as one of the Paris's foremost heroes.

It was true he had a team and more responsibilities now, but that didn't mean he had to neglect or forget about his loyal friend, Sabrina.

He ambled into the gates of the gardens, swatting away some branches from over his head. The leaves were starting to have an orange tint as autumn approached, and with autumn approaching, school's too. Actually, it's college that was approaching them. Aged eighteen and on top of the world, they're starting college next month.

Too soon, if you ask Nath.

A voice called out from behind him: "Nath!"

He spun on his heels and observed as Sabrina advanced towards him. She was wearing a sleeveless white shirt with a knee-length blue skirt that matched her eye color. She had on the black hat he had given her years ago. Her ginger hair was cascading from under her hat onto her back. Unlike four years ago, Sabrina now had grew her hair, reaching her mid-back.

He didn't have to bend down to give her a hug. Sabrina was almost as tall as he was.

Tightening her arms around him, she said, "I missed you."

They'd gotten even closer during the last few years. Of course, all this was merely platonic. They had never looked at each other in any other way.

Letting her go, he watched as she raised a hand to adjust her brown glasses. "Same. I'm sorry, I've been busy last few weeks as you know."

She waved a dismissal hand and led him to their chosen bench. "Yeah, yeah, I know. And now college's is almost at doors and ugh."

She sat down, smoothing her skirt and patted the space next to her. He settled down on one leg with the other dangling from the bench.

"So," she started with a small grin, "How's Chloe?"

Explaining why he would ever hang out with a bunch of losers to Sabrina was slightly difficult. Luckily, she assumed he tagged along the team just to get closer to Chloe, which he'd usually deny, but he couldn't exactly tell her about their secret headquarters that's located under Master Fu's massage center and that they're all the saviors of Paris. Of course, due to his...err...previous spectacle, most of Paris knew he was King Bee.

But that didn't mean he can just walk around with Pollen or that he could out the others' identities to anyone - even Sabrina.

So, he let her assume whatever she liked.

"Nothing new," he almost curtly replied.

"Really?" Sabrina questioned as she leaned forward.

He scoffed, "Yes."

"Sure, whatever you say, Nath."

He trailed his fingers past the bench's back. "No, really, there's nothing between us."

Looking him straight in the eye, she insisted, "But that doesn't mean you don't want there to be."

He thought of Chloe and her cascade of blonde curls. Her electric, celestial blue eyes. Her concentrated face while she's painting. Her beaming face when she gave them their new comms. The glint sparkling in her eyes when she talked about something she's passionate about. Her dedication to assist them in the field even though she had no miraculous. He remembered how years ago, she was always sitting at the end of the classroom. How she used to be quiet and shy. How, now, the whole room knew when she stepped in. How her glowing smile lit the room and brightened any gloom day. How his heart beat in a quick tattoo whenever she walked into-

He shook his head, giving Sabrina what he hoped was a convincing, charming smile. "So, fill me in on what you've been up to?"

She tilted her head, causing her hair to fall onto her shoulders, and softly sighed, changing the topic as he wished. 

* * *

Adrien was sitting on his bed, leaning on the headboard with his legs stretched and crossed in front of him. Marinette was curled up on the bed next to him, her head on his lap. He was reading to her when she fell asleep. Now, he was holding his book with one hand and brushing her hair with the other. Her fever had lowered, but it was still there.

The door knocked and, before he could reply, slid open. Nino stepped into the room, wearing a grimace on his face. He grabbed a chair from beside the desk and perched on it, placing it near the bed.

"Is everything alright?" Adrien asked.

"I gotta talk to you about something," Nino began then noticed Marinette. He gestured toward her. "She okay?"

He glanced down at her before answering, "Yeah, just a little fever. Continue. What's up?"

"Alya told you I had to babysit my siblings, right?" Nino paused long enough for Adrien to nod before he carried on. "So, when I went over to my parents' place, I found a letter that came with the mail addressed to me."

"And?" Adrien urged.

Nino stood up slightly to thumb something out of his pocket. An envelope. "When I opened it, there was only a note inside." He flipped the envelope open and handed Adrien a small square of paper.

He could feel his own eyes growing wider as he read it. 'We know who you are.'

"That's the same note we found a year ago," stated a somnolent voice. He peered downwards at Mari and found her gazing at the note in his hand.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Nino remarked. "They sent it to my parents' place, guys. Whoever those people are, they're back and they mean business."

Frowning, he inclined his head to Nino. "Call the others to the meeting room. And if they're not already here, phone them all to come."

Getting up from the chair, Nino gave a salute. "Ay, ay, captain!" He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"The night when there's no akuma attack, we have a meeting," Mari commented.

Swiping a lock of hair behind her ear, he murmured, "If you're still tired or you wanna sleep-"

She got up on her elbows and pecked his lips. A short, sweet touch that still sent his heat beating faster. "I'm _feline_ great. Let's go." She hopped off the bed and headed towards the door.

He groaned halfheartedly at the pun and pranced after her, accepting the hand she offered him and entwining their fingers together.


	19. 18: Night Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team meeting from Nath's POV

"Well, look who it is!"

Nathaniel twirled around. Chloe was closing the door to Master Fu's massage center behind her. She was clothed in an oversize black hoodie and jeans. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and her hands were smudged with paint. He gave her a quick grin before turning back to push the hidden brick, revealing a short dark corridor to the elevator.

"Hey, Chlo," he muttered. He felt a shuffle under his jacket's front mere moments before Pollen zoomed out to nuzzle Chloe's cheek.

"Chloe!"

Honestly, that would have been betrayal to him if the sight of Chloe interacting with Pollen hadn't made a warm feeling unfurl in his chest every time-

He cleared his throat to shake the thought.

"Pollen!" Chloe gave a giggle and stroked Pollen's head. She looked back at him when he cleared his throat.. "Where were you, mister?"

Sparing her a glance, he traipsed into the elevator as it slid open. "Me? I'm right here."

He held the elevator door for her. As she walked in and Pollen floated after herk, both her and Pollen threw him a leer.

Scratch his previous thought, it was betrayal.

The door slid shut and the elevator glided downwards. Shaking her head at him, she apparently decided that he's hopeless and changed topics. "You know why Adrien called us here?"

He had spent the afternoon with Sabrina. Then, as he was heading back to his father's hotel at the end of the evening, he got a call from Nino saying that Adrien had called a meeting.

The one possible peaceful evening he was about to have was definitely going to be ruined by this gang of idiots. Lately, most nights were full of akuma attacks and battles. It's true that some nights were akuma-free, but those were usually on his patrol nights.

They had a schedule for patrols at night. If an akuma shows up, those on patrol radio the others, whether they're awake or asleep. The schedule changed weekly to allow variation and some leisure. He usually got paired up with Marinette on the patrols she's not with Adrien.

"No idea. Nino said it's urgent." The elevator dinged and opened, allowing the light from the headquarters to pour through. They stalked through the hallways, heading towards the debriefing room.

Pollen hovered ahead of them, saying, "When is it not urgent with your lifestyle." They turned the corner and reached the debriefing room. Nathaniel managed to catch the last of Alya's words.

"-know why I'm here at 10 pm when I don't have patrol?"

Nino was seated on the edge of the dark couch with his elbows resting on his knees. Wayzz and Trixx were huddled between him and Alya who was perched on the couch's arm, opposite to him. Her headphones were resting around her neck. On the opposite couch, Marinette sat cross-legged, with Plagg nestled on her knee. On the table between the two couches were a few plates with food and a piece of paper, set down aside as if it were offensive to them. At the end of the table, Adrien and Tikki were standing, conversing quietly with Master Fu.

He heard Chloe murmuring softly, "Oo, burgers." She sat down next to Alya, who put a loose arm around her shoulders, and grabbed a burger. Pollen followed her to land next to Wayzz and Trixx.

Nathaniel made his way to sit next to Marinette. He bumped his knee with her Plagg-free one as he settled down, causing her to look up. She looked a little flushed. "Heard you're sick."

Raising an eyebrow, she retorted, "Heard you were missing."

"None of your business." He glared at her halfheartedly.

She smirked in response and replied with, "I'm wounded. Nevertheless, I know what you were up to. So, no worries."

If it were anyone else, Nathaniel would have denied the possibility of him or her ever guessing where he was correctly. But this was Marinette. They knew each other since they were toddlers. He could tell from the glint in her eyes that she did indeed know.

So he gave her a soft smile, instead.

"I can't find them, Adrien," Max abruptly stated as he came into the room, causing them all to turn. His hair was a bit ruffled and he had a tablet in hand.

"You can't find them?" Adrien asked at the same time as Nathaniel queried, "What's them?"

"The photos Alya and Marinette took the day they found that scribbling and Chloe found out the truth," Nino answered.

"The-" Alya started then cut herself off, blinking. "What?"

"How about we start over for the latecomers?" Marinette suggested, looking pointedly at Nino as Adrien moved to sit down on her other side.

Nino nodded then started telling them about how he found a letter at his parents' house and what he found inside when he opened it. He reached forward to grap the paper from the table to show them.

"That is most definitely the same line we found," Alya commented as Mari nodded.

"Which brings us to our issue," Max started, "Adrien asked me to fetch the photos you both took that day. But I looked for them everywhere and it's like they never even existed. There is no trace of them digitally or as a hardcopy, which I'm sure we had."

Frowning, Chloe confirmed, "Yeah, we printed all the photos. We had like ten copies throughout the place."

"Exactly. Now, I can't find any copy."

"But why would they wait a whole year till they send us the same note again?" Alya questioned.

Master Fu stroked his beard and replied thoughtfully, "Perhaps, that is their strategy. Perhaps, they did not know all of your identities, yet."

"That's another issue. How is it possible that someone knows your identities?" Tikki chimed in.

"Well, it isn't a mystery how someone knows the great King Bee's identity," Nino muttered.

Nathaniel glared at him while Pollen said, "But it isn't easy to connect Nath with the four of you. There is barely any public connection."

Wayzz added, "Unless it is someone we know. Someone we trusted."

Someone they trusted? There were only a few who knew their secret, and it's mostly because they themselves had a miraculous or still have one. None of them could betray them like this, Nathaniel thought. It can't be someone they trust.

...Can it?

"What if it's a certain someone?" Nino asked, glancing pointedly at Mari as he straightened. What does this fool mean- What was he implying-

Pausing her caress on Plagg's head, Mari's eyes narrowed. "If he wanted to out us, he would have done it a year and a half ago, Nino."

Oh.

Nino meant Gabriel Agreste-

Nino raised his hands in a surrendering motion. But there was this dark flicker in Marinette's eyes that Nathaniel did not like. And if the look on Adrien's face was anything to go by, he'd say Adrien did not miss it either. Nor did he like it.

Sensing the tension, Alya rushed to placate the mood. She wasn't his favorite person in the world, but Nathaniel appreciated her being there for Mari always. "So, we can assume that all identities are compromised?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Plagg nudged Mari's hand, causing her to look down. Plagg tilted his head to the side and drooped his ears. Giving him a tiny incline of her head, she stroked behind his ear with a nail.

"It is now confirmed that your identities are compromised. Meaning that you are all in danger. Possibly even including Chloe and Max," Master Fu responded.

"And you?" Adrien asked. Wayzz nodded as if agreeing with Adrien.

Master Fu gave a small smile. "Do not fret about me, young one. I have managed for 190 years. I worry about your lives and your loved ones more."

Wayzz looked like he wanted to protest, but he stayed quiet. Alya brushed the back of her fingers over Wayzz's head.

"Since I found the letter at my parents' place, it's safe to assume any of the people close to us - whether family members or friends - may be in danger. We should keep a close eye on them all," Nino declared.

Adrien nodded. "I'll try to get in contact with some of the others to make sure everything's alright with them."

"As for the rest of us, I believe it's called the buddy system," Mari concluded. Alya stuck out her tongue at her and Mari, so maturely, stuck it back.

"So, whoever they are, they're finally acting now?" Nathaniel inquired.

"I think they started weeks ago," Trixx said.

"Yeah," Plagg carried on, "The amount of akumas that were made the last few days was greater than we've seen in months. Months ever since the original Hawkmoth." He nuzzled into Mari's hand at the end, making her smile.

"So, whoever they are, not only have they managed to figure out our identities, but also they probably are the one who stole the butterfly miraculous," Max finished.

"Isn't there a way to track Nooroo down? Didn't you do that once three years ago?" Adrien asked.

The kwamis all shared glances. It was Tikki who answered them in the end. "That time, we had all the other kwamis with us and," she paused, "It was Nooroo's birthday, and we almost led Hawkmoth to us."

Adrien muttered softly, "Oh."

"So, basically," Chloe started, "Buddy system for all, and we sleep with an eye open."

Alya lightly shoved her shoulder. "And we keep an eye on our parents and all those people."

"Alright, I think we're done here. Everyone, be safe. If you notice anything off, warn the others," Adrien concluded, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Mari asked.

Looking down at her, Adrien replied, "I have patrol tonight."

"Let me come with you," Marinette said as she started to get up, too.

Adrien held her down by her shoulders. "You're still sick, Mari."

She glared halfheartedly. "I'm fine."

She wasn't. He could tell she was at least a bit off. Her cheeks were flushed, too. She'd get worse if she went on patrol and didn't rest. None of them can afford that with a possible battle coming right at them from an unknown direction. But it was obvious she didn't want Adrien to patrol on his own. And, knowing her, she was stubborn enough to go on patrol and deny that she's sick. So, as her oldest, most loyal, most fashionable friend, he took matters in his own hands.

"I'll go with you."

Everyone stared at him blankly.

"What?" Nathaniel questioned irritatedly.

"Since when do you volunteer to go on patrol? With _Adrien_ out of all people?" Alya asked.

Nino continued, "Aren't you gonna whine about how you're missing your beauty sleep."

Nathaniel glared at them both and threw a pillow in their general direction. He turned back to Adrien and Mari, who were looking at him confusedly and fondly, respectively.

As Nathaniel smiled at Mari and placed his hand on her knee, Adrien's look turned from confused to grateful.

Ignoring the others as they still went on about how this is unexpected from him, he spared Chloe a glance and called out to Pollen to follow him when Adrien, Tikki, and him left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He glare, he bite, but he a ball of softness deep down   
> (Or at least that's how I view Chloe in the show- before they ruined her redemption arc *le sigh*)


	20. 19: When Life Gives You Demons...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LB and KB have a classic rooftop talk, and, you know, good old demons.

Ladbug landed on the edge of the rooftop and kneeled down, observing the quiet streets of their city. He turned when he heard a soft thud behind him before Bee crouched next to him.

"Thanks for, you know." They didn't talk much for the first part of the patrol.

He could practically hear Bee's eyeroll. "Yeah, whatever, buggy," Bee muttered.

Inhaling softly, he continued, "I know you did it for her-"

"Of course I did. Otherwise that recalcitrant would have insisted she was fine and would go with you." There was an underlying fondness in his tone, if Adrien wasn't mistaken.

"Yeah," he agreed, "She would have."

There was a brief hiatus, so Ladbug stood up and released his yoyo, assuming their talk was over, but Bee interrupted him.

"Keep a close eye on her, alright?"

"What?" Ladbug blurted out, startled, as he abruptly whirled to glance at Bee.

"Mari," Bee peeked at him from the corner of his eye, "Keep an eye on her."

"Names," he reprimanded automatically before his mind registered the words. "What- why?"

Rolling his eyes once more, Bee elaborated, "You know how she's been since that battle."

"Yeah, but she's been getting better-"

"If you really think that, then you must be dumber than I thought, Dupain-Cheng."

Narrowing his eyes, he twirled onto him. " _Names_ , King Bee."

"Listen." Bee stood up to his full length. "I'm not just insulting you. I'm trying to make a point here."

"Oh, really? Do enlighten me. I'm all ears," Adrien scoffed. And there he was thinking they actually improved their relation, mainly because of Mari.

"I saw the look on your face. You noticed that look in her eye earlier. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who disliked it." Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair. "She's gonna slide to a dark place if we don't keep an eye on her."

"But," he paused, frowning. He was most definitely right. He did not like that glint in her eyes any tiny bit. But it didn't make sense to him. "I thought she was adjusting-"

"How do you _adjust_ to your father being Hawkmoth, Ladbug?" Bee very kindly interrupted.

He glanced at the streets down, trying to gather his thoughts before starting once again. He's phrasing it wrongly. "She seems better those days."

Shuffling his feet, Nath threw back, "And if you actually thought _that_ , then you don't know her as well as I previously believed."

"And what do you mean by _that_?" He crossed his arms, getting more than slightly irritated. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of Nathaniel or because of the realization slowly crawling onto him.

"Again," Bee sighed, "I'm not insulting you. I just wanna make sure she stays safe."

Ladbug hesitated, rubbing his forehead. He force himself to stay calm. "You and I both. So, throw what you have to say."

"One," he started as he gestured to the streets below them, "How could she be fine and peachy if people are still talking and addressing her as 'Hawkmoth's daughter' till now?"

They...what? His eyes widened. Who did? How didn't he know this? He thought Mari was telling him everything, but he really should have known better. Especially with matters regarding her father. She was always tight-lipped about such matters. He should have known. He should have heard about it from somewhere, somehow.

"Um?" Bee broke his train of thoughts. "Why do you look like you haven't ever heard about- Don't say you had no idea." He groaned.

"I-" he paused, having no idea what to say or what to say to defend himself. "I don't know- shit- I should have known. I had no idea."

Bee crossed his arms and let out a soft breath. "I bet you wouldn't have ever if she had it her way. See what I'm talking about."

"That's not just it." He twirled around and started pacing. "I knew people were talking immediately after the disclosure, but I genuinely thought people stopped. Are you sure about this?

"Sure?" Nathaniel huffed, uncrossing his arms and gesturing wildly. "I had those words shot at my face. Some random weirdo stopped me a few ago and asked how I could be 'friends with Hawkmoth's daughter while being King Bee and all.' I have never wanted to punch someone so badly."

That definitely wouldn't have helped them at all. They had to do something. He had to do something to fix this. Starting with-

"I have to talk to her when we get back." He stopped pacing and walked to the edge of the roof.

He heard Bee scoffing behind him. "Yeah, like that will get you anywhere."

Gritting his teeth, Adrien muttered, "What do you suggest, wisest of them all?"

"Addressing her directly will get you nowhere - we both know that." He hated to admit it, but Nathaniel had a point. If speaking directly was the key, then he would have known about this months ago. "She won't heal until she gets closure."

"And what do we do until she gets that?" Adrien mumbled, resigned.

"Keep an eye on her," Nath articulated. Adrien could tell Nath wished to do more to help his childhood friend. But this was all they could do for now. He promised himself right there and then: he would bring her that closure she most definitely needed and deserved. And if that fond look and raised eyebrow on Bee's face were anything to go by, he would bet they agreed on this single thing for sure.

Nathaniel gave a short nod - probably coming to the same conclusion as Adrien. Even if it wasn't spoken out loud, they planned on sticking to that promise.

"Back to patrol? Or do I tell the others that you're slacking off?" Bee gave a small smile, one that meant they were in this together and that he would not mention this to anyone, despite what he said.

"Me? Slacking off? They'll all tell you that you're the one who's slacking off." Ladbug returned the smile and thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't so wrong in assuming that their relation went somewhere different. 

* * *

Entering the headquarters and separating paths from Nath, Adrien passed by the kitchen to grab cookies for Tikki.

"Thanks, Adrien!" Tikki chipped in before munching on her cookie. He smiled and headed towards his room.

Tikki floated behind him before landing on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself."

He joked, "For which part?"

She just stared at him in response. Sighing, he properly replied, "I don't know, Tikki. I should have-"

"You won't progress in anything in life if you keep going over what you should have or what you could have done. What is done is done. Now that you know, you can make sure she's truly alright."

Giving her a soft smile, he caressed her tiny head with his finger. "Always the wise one, Tikki." Tikki giggled and leaped up to hug his cheek.

He stopped in front of his door and pushed the button to open the door. The door slid open and he smelled Camembert cheese. He gave a chuckle. "Speak of the cat..."

Tikki zoomed in towards Plagg as Adrien noticed the occupants of his room. Mari was curled up on her side on his bed with Plagg nestled around her loose hair on the pillow. He made his way to the other end of the bed and sat on the edge. He watched as Tikki huddled with Plagg who unconsciously wrapped his tail around her.

"Good night, Adrien," Tikki whispered before shutting her eyes.

Adrien reached over to push back the strands of hair from Mari's face. He placed a kiss on her forehead before leaning back. Mari stirred, but she didn't wake up.

"Yeah, good night."

* * *

When he woke up, Mari and the kwamis were gone. He groaned and turned over to grab his phone from the nightstand. It's almost noon. Awesome.

After he got up and stole an apple from the kitchen, Adrien went on a search to find the others. He didn't have to look for long because as he passed the library, he heard noises from the training room. Figures. Pausing on the threshold, he confirmed his suspicions. Mari and Alya were up and headstrong. He came just in time to see Mari as she flipped over Alya and landed in a crouch. They were training with wooden sticks.

Leaning on a pillar, he raised his voice, saying, "Aren't you sick?"

They both whirled around towards him and Mari smirked, throwing back, "Aren't you Santa Claus?"

"Hilarious."

She smiled cheekily as she got up. "I know."

"Good morning, Al." He nodded to her.

Alya waved. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Hey! Don't I get a 'good morning'?"

"Are the others here?" Adrien asked, purposefully dismissing Mari. "And where did you drag my kwami?"

"Well, aren't you full of questions on this very fine morning?"

Alya elbowed her and opened her mouth to answer- or at least she would have if it weren't for the blazing red lights and alarm sounds. Akuma attack. Well, wasn't this indeed the perfect morning?

Dropping her stick to the side, Alya exclaimed, "To the missions' room!"

There was a slight pause before- "Really, Alya?"

Alya shrugged and looked at Mari. "What can I do? Nino's rubbing off me with his comics."

Before he could get a word about how Mari can't come with them, she grinned and crossed past him with Alya closely following towards the 'missions' room' (apparently). He groaned. He won't be able to stop her this time. He turned around and followed their lead.

Max was already there at the computer, pulling up the streets' security cameras' feeds. Nathaniel walked in after them. He looked quite grumpy today.

"Beauty sleep interrupted, fairest of them all?"

"Shut it, Mari."

"That is really sad, Nath. I give you my condolences- What the hell is going on up there?" Mari interrupted herself, startled. He twirled around to gaze at the monitor and- Woah.

There were creatures flooding the streets. They looked like the size of an elongated human. Only difference was that they had white, scaled skin, bulging black, toad-like, pupil-less eyes, and a perfectly circular mouth. Oh- and don't forget the tentacles for arms. Awesome slick, grayish white, tipped with red suckers tentacles straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Who ordered demons for breakfast?

"Raum demons," Max mumbled.

Alya grinned. "Totally, I don't know whether to freak out or take pictures."

"We heard the alarm," Tikki said as she, Plagg, Wayzz, and Pollen zoomed into the room, each stopping next to his or her wielder.

Adrien, still staring at the screens with wide eyes, gestured behind him. "Someone call Nino to meet us up there. Get ready, we're heading out."

"Got it," Alya replied before turning around - probably to get her phone.

Nath leaned on the desk. "Well, this is stunning."

Sighing inwardly, Adrien started, "Mari-"

"I'm coming with."

"Marinette-"

"No. I'm coming with," she declared, standing her ground. "Can't you see those things? You need all hands on deck. Besides, I'm fine."

"I gotta say, you do need us," Plagg so helpfully added.

It's not like he didn't know that. It's just that- he groaned. "Adrien?" Tikki asked. One glimpse at her and he could tell she agreed as well.

He shared a look with Nath over Mari's shoulder. But he didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed as she traced the exchanged between them.

"Suit up, gang."

They all gave him a look.

"What?" Adrien jabbered, defensively. "Nino's rubbing off onto me too!"

* * *

"What I miss?" Chloe asked as a greeting.

"Sup, Chlo. Ah, you know, all the usual jam. Demons' gateway opened apparently," Max saluted.

After last night's meeting, she went back to her home to continue her preparations for college and all that with her parents. She still couldn't believe they were starting college next month. Like, woah- Right, right, not the time.

"Demons, you say?" Chloe joked back, setting her backpack on the floor and sitting on the chair next to him.

He deadpanned, "I'm not kidding, Chloe. Actual demons."

She frowned then turned to the screen. "Holy guacamole- how did I not pass by any of those thingies on my way here?"

The streets were actually flooded with those tentacled, scaly, elongated creatures. How could someone miss this? She just got the akuma attack alert on her phone then grabbed her bag and headed to the headquarters immediately.

"Well, be lucky you didn't."

"Why?" Curiosity killed the cat.

"I do believe those tentacles contain tiny poisonous needles," Master Fu said from his place in the entryway. He probably came from the library. But hey, satisfaction brought it back, remember? Well...unless those tentacles grabbed hold of the cat-

"You hear that guys?" Max relayed after turning on the comms. "The tentacles may or may not be poisonous."

Chatte's voice cracked over the speakers. _"So, we may or may not die?"_

 _"What did I miss?"_ Renard greeted as, Chloe noticed from one of the screens, he landed next to Ladbug on a rooftop.

_"Demons. Tentacles. Poisonous. May or may not kill us. The good old boring stuff basically."_

There was a pause before Nino responded. _"Very helpful, Carapace. Totally missed those demons swarming the distinct."_

_"You are so very welcome, RR."_

"Do you guys need help clearing the area?-"

Nathaniel interrupted, _"You fancying a burn or perhaps a death wish?"_

That was so not intended. "You think?"

_"Well, it did seem to me that. Is it only me, guys?"_

She crossed her arms even though he couldn't see her. "Seriously? What's up with you? Who died?"

His comm crackled, but before he could speak, Renard cut in. _"Him, if you two don't cut it out!"_

 _"Guys, focus,"_ Ladbug chimed in. _"Carapace, Chatte, damage control. Renard, try to find the source - if there is one. Bee, with me."_ They each gave their affirmative.

So, they, Master Fu, Max, and she, waited as always, watching from the monitors and trying their best to help from their side.


	21. 20: ...You Trip Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting some good old demons, yeesh someone loses it- actually they all lose it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and if you wanna jam, listen to Fire Meets Fate by Ruelle at around when Bee and Chatte meet up with the others halfway through, it sets the mood- :3

She leaped from rooftop to rooftop as she scouted around for civilians in trouble, occasionally dropping in to help someone. Damage control, yeah she could do that. Thank goodness the demons were swarming only the streets and not the rooftops as well. She plummeted down in a crouch to aid Alya while she cleared multiple vehicles from riders.

Chatte contemplated about how Ladbug frequently deployed Carapace and herself with damage control. Well, it was probably because Alya had a shield and Mari was the most experienced (excluding LB, of course). Or because she was agile. She liked to think that.

She ushered two kids into a nearby store and rolled to the side just in time to dodge a spiked tentacle swatting at her general direction. From the corner of her eye, she could see as Alya pushed the kids' mother behind her and held on to her shield. Well, time for some sweet action.

Chatte extended her baton and struck at the demon's somewhat human legs, causing him- it- them- whatever to fall before it was able to reach Alya and the mother. Carapace saw the opportunity as an opening and quickly guided the woman to the same store as her kids. Meanwhile, Mr-super-sweet demon got up and decided to conveniently prop up a car with its tentacles to launch at her. _Paw_ some.

She skidded and almost crashed into Alya as they both rushed into an alley, successfully evading the car that skated onwards till it smashed into two other cars. She turned to glance and- oh no- the demon was out for them.

"How to piss off a demon 101? You _trip_ them," her very lovely, non-sarcastic friend remarked as they clambered onto the fire escape stairs at the end of the alley.

As she landed on the metal stairs with a thud, she huffed, "Well, you are _furry_ welcome as I saved your butt back there."

Carapace perched next to her and stood swiftly to ascend the stairs. " _Well_ , thank you for making a gigantic, humongous two-feet demon with poisonous tentacles and an ugly circular mouth with spikes for teeth chase after us- no wait, it's pissed at you. I'm goo-"

Alya wasn't even able to complete her sentence before the demon banged the fire escape stairs. The bottom half of the stairs crumbled onto, but it sadly didn't crush the demon. Marinette was near the top, but, unfortunately, Alya wasn't and, therefore, started to fall. Mari caught how her eyes widened as the stairs gave away and she almost touched down the floor.

But Chatte wasn't about to let that happen.

Chatte managed to grasp Carapace's ankle, holding her in the air. She looked down and noticed how close Carapace was to the demon.

Gritting her teeth, she called out, " _Carapace_!" Immediately, she heard questions and like from the comm link, but she easily dismissed them. She had long learned how to tune out the chatter from the link.

Alya looked up as she heard her name. She held out her other hand and Alya instantly curled up as much as she can to grip her hand. As Carapace lunged upwards, she smacked the demon's tentacle that was approaching her with her shield, giving herself a boost.

Their gloved fingers touched as the metal stairs gave a creak. That was definitely not good. She released Alya's ankle and clutched her hand instead. She hurriedly pulled the brunette and herself onto the rooftop right before the stairs wholly collapsed.

Panting, she turned to Alya. "You okay?"

Carapace slumped forward and rested her hands on her knees. "Yeah, thanks dudette. The dude's mouth smells revolting."

"How to piss off a demon 202? You insult their breath." She bumped her best friend's shoulder.

"202? Really?" Carapace snorted as she marched towards the roof's edge to (probably) scan for the demon.

 _"What happened?"_ Nino's voice came over the link.

 _"Everyone okay?"_ Adrien questioned.

She eyed Alya as she scanned the alley before giving her a thumbs up. " _Paws_ tive." She grinned when she heard Adrien groaning.

 _"Okay. I...found the source,"_ Nino stated, sounding a little out of breath. But weren't they all? _"You totally wouldn't guess where."_

"Eiffel Tower," she muttered. She was also pretty sure she heard the rest mumbling the same thing. Bee, though, of course, had to add, _"Is there a neon sign somewhere there saying, 'Oh! All battles must and will be here!' because that's the only explanation."_

_"Bingo."_

_"Alright, we'll all converge there. Renard, keep an eye for the akumatized object because Bee and I couldn't find any clue."_

_"Ay, ay, captain! Oh, and guys? If you thought those demons flooding the streets were enormous, wait till you see those."_

She watched as Alya rolled her eyes fondly.

Why have two feet tall, two tentacled demon monster when you can have a six foot tall, four tentacled demon?

That's the only thought that crossed her mind as Carapace and herself slowed to a stop in the Eiffel Tower's vicinity with LB and KB in tow behind them. Renard hopped to them from the building on the left.

She twirled around to greet them when she noticed a cut on Adrien's right cheek. She frowned and narrowed her baby blue eyes at it. It wasn't that long or deep from the looks of it, but still...

Adrien tied his yoyo to his belt and turned to her. He probably noted her slight frown because he gave her a soft smile and a tiny nod to indicate that he's fine.

Nino was murmuring something and hugging Alya, who had a light pink hue on her cheeks and Nath was, well, standing to the side with his arms crossed and cursing at the universe for ridding him of his beauty sleep. It's either that or he was regretting his life decisions.

Ladbug crouched close to the roof edge. "Got anything, Renard?"

She kneeled next to them and sensed as the others did the same.

"Well," Nino started, "You, guys, saw how they were practically mindless down there, right?" He paused as they nodded. "Around the tower, it's almost as if they're coordinated."

Alya switched and sat cross legged on the rooftop. "So, you think there's a mind somewhere there?" She pointed to the tower.

"I mean, you guys," he gestured to LB and KB, "couldn't find any akumatized object. So, what if it's not the demons but, you know, a mastermind summoner."

That was possibly the only explanation. So, all they had to was break through that fortress of six foot demons and find the actual akuma. Did she mention the four tentacles? Magnificent.

Adrien nodded. "We attack from both sides. Chatte," he turned to face her and she gave him a salute along with a smirk, "take Bee and penetrate from the base. We'll meet you halfway up the tower."

She stood and dusted her suit. "Come on, sleeping beauty."

Nathaniel got up as well, but he paused to throw her a glare with such intensity. Talk about how looks could kill. She responded with a cheeky grin. He raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and jumped off the roof.

She was about to follow his lead when something tugged her tail. She partially turned to see Adrien pouring his emerald green eyes into hers.

"Be careful, okay?"

She didn't deserve him.

"Always." She paused. "You too."

The light in his eyes danced and she spun to go after Nath.

"So," Chatte called out to Bee as she dived under yet another tentacle, "What's got your mood in a twist?"

Swerving to the side and landing to a crouch opposite to her, Nath gave her a look. "Really? Now?"

"Got a better time?" Chatte huffed.

There was a brief moment of silence as they managed to make it past two demons and four tiny demons, who may had looked adorable and ridiculous compared to the six foot ones if the circumstances were different...

Nah, scratch that. They were ugly creatures no matter their size.

"Are we supposed to fight those stuff or just ascend the tower?"

She slid between two four tentacled demons. " _Purr_ etty sure we should be looking for the akuma!"

He groaned, "Head for the stairs, then!"

But before they were able to arrive at the base of the stairs, the demons moved, changing their formation to surround the stairs then them.

"Or not," he muttered under his breath.

She tossed him a glance before observing their surroundings. A circle of demons trapping them and another preventing them from reaching the stairs. No way out unless they wanted to be swatted at by those tentacles. Except...

She slowly moved away from Nath. "B, give me a boost." They'll have to angle it at one of the two feet demons. Six feet was too high with barely any space to give momentum.

"What?" Bee asked, startled.

"Give me a boost," she repeated as she reached a good distance away from him. She turned towards him and saw realization in his eyes. He nodded and clasped his hands together after she starting dashing towards him. She placed her foot on his clasped hands and jumped, getting a boost from Nath.

She leaped through the air and flipped over a two foot demon, landing in a crouch on the other side. The circle broke as some demons went after her.

She adjusted her grip on her baton and tried to-

The idea occurring to her was lost as she sneezed. A six foot demon tried to grab her. She didn't have space nor time to dodge, so she cried out, "Cataclysm!"

She extended her hand skyward and touched a metal beam. It disconnected from the other beams and crashed down onto the demon. Neat. The past few years were all about learning to control the size of the impact of her cataclysm. Handy.

"Not sick, right?!" Nathaniel exclaimed from far away between the demons.

She snarled and threw back, " _Buzz off, Bee_!"

She unfortunately sneezed again.

" _Ha_! And you wonder why we don't believe you?"

"I- _Look out_!" Chatte yelled when she noticed the tentacles approaching Nath from behind him. Nath twirled around, but instead of darting away, Nath called out, "Venom!"

...And it, surprisingly enough, did actually work. But then again, why wouldn't it in this world of theirs?

The six foot demon was entirely embalmed.

"Sweet."

But that wasn't all. The other demons seemed almost mesmerized by the mummy-like demon, giving them the _purr_ fect chance to dash upstairs.

Which was exactly what they did.

They eventually met up with the others. Ladbug apparently summoned his lucky charm, as there was a spotted object at his belt. And if she squinted enough, she could see that it was...a pair of goggles?

They continued to dodge the tentacles and occasionally tripping (yes, tripping, Alya) the demons with a bit teamwork. Bee and her still didn't find the actual akuma and she wasn't sure if the others had a clue about where it was.

That is, of course, until she spotted a...cocoon hanging in the center of the tower? What the hell?

Then, because that day wasn't crazy enough yet, two six foot demons slammed their tentacles on the metal floor, causing Nath to lose his balance and fall off the railing.

" _Bee_!"

She wasn't sure who precisely said it, or if multiple people said it. She attempted to get to Nath, but before she could, she saw a gray object coming towards her from the left. She turned, but she was too late.

A demon (apparently) decided to toss her like a freaking ball using a freaking street light pole.

 _Oh_ , excuse her if she didn't expect to be slammed by a damn light pole when she was, um, over hundred fifty meters above ground.

She crashed into one of the metal beams and everything became blurry for a moment or two. She could hear sounds, maybe someone calling her name. Lights swirled behind her eyelids, and when she finally opened them, it wasn't better at all.

The only good thing that happened was that Nath was alright.

Renard and Bee were cornered near the railing. Bee looked semi unconscious, though she definitely wasn't any better. Carapace had activated her shelter shield, but it was starting to flicker. Ladbug- oh, no- Ladbug was unconscious next to Alya. They were surrounded by demons and sooner than later Alya's shield would fall, but the demons would definitely reach Bee and Renard first. If not herself.

But something looked...different about the demons.

She squinted her eyes and tried to get up as much as she could. She leaned on one elbow as she finally registered what was so different.

The demons no longer had tentacles; they had somewhat normal hands. Or at least the ones closest to each of them did. That's when she realized something.

Even the new Hawkmoth was after their miraculous.

Mainly Adrien's and hers.

Alya's shield kept on flickering while the demons almost reached Renard and Bee and some others were lurching above her. If the demons reached them, they'd lose and their miraculous would be gone. They were going to take their miraculous. They were about to take Adrien's miraculous.

She couldn't let this happen. Not again.

_Never again._

* * *

They were doomed. The demons were staggering forwards and they were doomed. Bee was slightly out of it because he plummeted down a couple of good feet in the air before Nino was able to reach him. Nino already used his mirage, so as the demons kept marching towards each of them, he had no idea what to do.

He looked to the right to see the others. Carapace's shield was flickering and Ladbug was apparently knocked unconscious somehow while Nino was helping Nath. A glance to the left confirmed that Chatte was still stunned after the crash. Ouch. That gotta hurt.

He had no idea what to do, how to get out of this. He wasn't the thinker. Ladbug was, but he was currently unconscious, so he couldn't help him. They had to act fast if they wanted to win this somehow.

They needed a miracle.

"Any ideas?" Nino asked into the comm link, hoping that, Alya, Max, or Chloe would answer.

 _"My shield's about to drop, dudes."_ He could discern a slight fearful underlying tone to her voice.

They were running out of time.

 _"Guys, try to-"_ Whatever Max was about to say was cut off by Chloe who exclaimed, _"Wait! Look!"_

Look? Where- At what?

That's when he heard the yell.

_"Cataclysm!"_

Oh! Mari was conscious again. But- he already heard her calling her power earlier before-

That was his last thought before the structure started to crumble because Mari placed her cataclysm on the metal flooring.

He tried his best to maneuver Nath and himself safely onto the ground as one of the bases of the Eiffel Tower collapsed. The tower tilted with a screeching sound and dust clouds.

And when the dust cleared and everything stilled, Nino noticed that all the demons somehow disappeared. He looked around for the others. Carapace's shield somehow lasted long enough and had protected them against the collapse. It flickered to nothing a moment later. Ladbug was stirring, so that's good. Bee was shaken out of his stupor, too. But- wait a minute-

Where's Chatte?

Before panic could rise, he squinted his eyes and skimmed the area before his eyes caught a figure with cat ears and a tail. He almost sighed with relief as he glimpsed her standing next to the akuma cocoon he saw earlier and- oh, he perceived that she broke the akumatized object when his eyes caught the fluttering akuma. That's why the demons dematerialized.

He helped Nath up as Ladbug made his way to cleanse the akuma.

"Whose idea was it to drop the damn tower?" Nath grumbled when they reached the others at the center of the debris.

"Hey, that was so epic!" Alya exclaimed with a smile that didn't waver even after Nath shot her a weirded out look.

Checking if Alya had any injuries, he answered distractedly, "Chatte cataclysm-ed the base floor."

Nath, who was rubbing his head, stilled. "What? But...she already used her cataclysm?"

"No idea, dude," Alya said. "But it was super awesome either way. Don't know how she did it though."

_"Guys, is everyone unscathed?"_

_"All okay?"_

Nino was about to reply with an affirmative, but Nath shook his head and narrowed his turquoise eyes at Chatte, mumbling, "Something's wrong."

And as he watched Ladbug approach Chatte after he purified the akuma, he realized that Nath was indeed right. Something was wrong.

He heard Adrien calling, "Chatte?"

The three of them turned to gaze at them, and when Mari didn't respond, Adrien furrowed his brows. Ladbug took a step forward and laid down his hand on her shoulder, tenderly spinning her around. "Mari?"

When she finally faced him, Nino heard the slightly sharp intake of air Adrien took. He frowned and his eyes widened when he noted what was wrong. Chatte's eyes were glazed over and- holy- they were _green_. That- What? Marinette's eyes were cerulean blue, and as Chatte, her iris remained cerulean blue and her sclera was a lighter shade.

Her eyes were never green.

Alya gasped from his right and Nath's jaw dropped.

A split second later those lime green eyes that everyone was gaping at slid shut as Marinette swayed and would have fallen if it weren't for Adrien.

Adrien caught her shoulders and gently lowered them both to the ground. "Marinette!"

"She looks so pale," Alya noted while she kneeled down next to them. She caressed Mari's forehead with the back of her fingers. "And she's too cold."

 _"I'll inform Master Fu."_ Chloe's voice crackled over the link.

Nino noticed from out of his periphery how Nath stepped forward, but then retreated back. He also noticed how Adrien looked scared out of his wits.

His eyes snapped to Chatte's ring as it beeped. In fact, all their miraculous beeped for the third or fourth time as they all had used their special powers. But Chatte's ring bleeped thrice in a row.

"Ladbug," he called out, causing Adrien's head to snap up at his best friend's voice. "We need to get out of here."

Chatte's ring warbled for the fourth time, which didn't make sense since it's beeping way quicker than the usual.

"She's about to detransform," Ladbug stated. His voice was slightly wavering.

Nathaniel, who was silent till that moment, chimed in, "We all are. So, do your thing and let's head back to HQ to check on her."

"Right." Adrien shook his head once then passed Marinette to Alya. He got up and threw the lucky charm into the air with a yell right before tiny ladybugs emerged to repair all the damage done. One moment they were standing among debris and the other they were shadowed by the Eiffel Tower once more. He crouched again and turned to face them with a new resolute glistening in his eyes. "Scatter and detransform then meet back at the headquarters."

Nino locked eyes with his best friend and nodded while Nath, when Nino turned to glance at him, nodded as he stared at Mari.

Adrien carried Mari bridal style even as Alya aided him before getting up. She touched Adrien's upper arm and shot him a look that Nino couldn't decipher before giving Nino a salute as she brushed past Nath. Bee looked at their general direction and spun on his heels once his miraculous beeped. Nino lingered behind long enough to pat Adrien on the shoulder.

"She'll be okay, bro. Don't worry about her." He looked him straight in the eye.

Adrien's lips twitched. "Thanks, man. See you at HQ."

They parted ways and Nino detransformed in some far away alley. He handed Trixx some biscuits before Trixx zoomed into his pocket. Nino rounded the corner and bumped into Alya.

"Als?"

If he didn't know better, he would have said she was almost tense, but her shoulders relaxed a moment later and he forgot about it.

"Hey, Nino. Heading to HQ?" A lopsided grin appeared on her face as she twirled around a curl of her hair.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked confusedly, "You know that we never head to HQ together, Al. Adrien always says to separate." It was mainly in hope that they don't attract any attention from whoever knows their identities. They had to disperse and take roundabout routes to avoid de trop notice.

He thought he saw her furrow her brows before quickly straightening.

"Did you hit your head or something, Alya?'

She puffed a laugh. "Nah, my dude. I'm peachy."

He wasn't quite convinced, but he let it go for now as they needed to get back.

"Sure." He dipped down to peck her cheek. "See ya."

He strode forward and chuckled when he heard her saying as she marched in the opposite direction, "HQ, here we come!"


	22. 21: Hopeless? Fear Not!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Master Fu cooks up something blue, all's good, and some surprise characters appear at last.

Max was seated on his chair near the monitors, fidgeting while he waited for the others to return to base. Like always, Master Fu, Chloe, and he were watching the surveillance footage from the streets' and nearby buildings' cameras, which he hacked into. Well, they now also had the drone he and Nino worked on. But anyways, for some reason the moment Master Fu saw Mari using her cataclysm for the second time, he left the room without a word. Well, unless you count stroking his beard as some kind of language.

He and Chloe were still watching as everyone noticed how Mari's eyes turned green. Everyone was about to detransform, so they decided to split up and return to HQ after fixing everything. Chloe went to find Master Fu. Now, he was waiting alone for the others to come back, but as he waited, the theories started swarming his head.

It didn't make sense how Marinette used cataclysm twice; everyone knew miraculous wielders had only one chance to use their exclusive powers before they had to detransform. So, how did Chatte manage to summon her power twice?

It didn't add up either how her eyes turned green. It absolutely didn't help how she dropped either.

Faintly, he could hear some noise reverberating around the empty corridors - probably from Chloe or Master Fu. As he sat there silently, his mind couldn't help but race with thoughts.

Suddenly, his head snapped to the elevator as it slid open with a ting and Ladbug came dashing in. Marinette was in his arms, unconscious and detransformed. The pallor of her skin was more obvious under the glaring light of the entryway. Her head was lolled to the side, resting on Ladbug's shoulder. He squinted a little and noticed Plagg was unconscious as well on her stomach.

That was definitely not good. Not good at all.

It took a lot to fully wear out a kwami.

"Spots off," Adrien muttered before turning to him. "Where's Master Fu?"

Tikki took one glance at them and mumbled, "This is bad."

Max stood up. "Not sure. He just walked out earlier, but Chloe went to call him." Adrien didn't waste time before heading towards the medbay, and Max and Tikki quickly followed his tracks, but Master Fu intercepted them before they reached their destination. Chloe was trailing behind him.

"Master-"

"Do not fret, young one. She is fine," Master Fu interrupted Adrien.

And wasn't Adrien all about fretting right then. Not unreasonably, of course. "But-"

"Follow me." Master Fu turned and marched forward without glancing back to check if they were following him. Adrien and Tikki hurried after him while he and Chloe shared a glance. She shrugged and went after them.

He was about to follow them when the elevator tinged again. This time, it was Nath with Pollen resting on his shoulder, munching on a biscuit.

"Where are they?" Nath asked as a greeting.

Max nodded his head in a greeting and motioned backwards. "That way, Wonder Bee."

Nathaniel paused and shot him the stink eye. "Kante, if you value your life, do not ever repeat that."

He adjusted his glasses. "Right, let's go."

The door to Mari's room was open, and they found the others in there. Adrien was seated on the edge of the bed, holding Mari's hand while Master Fu was standing at the other bedside, and Chloe was handing him a container.

Adrien was in the middle of saying, "-really alright?"

"Is she okay?" Nathaniel immediately questioned, causing the others' heads to turn towards them.

Master Fu nodded. "As I was just telling Adrien and Chloe, Marinette is unharmed."

Nath frowned. "So, why'd she faint?" Adrien nodded, as if to second him.

Master Fu sighed and opened the container, placing it on a nearby stool. "This isn't the first time this has occurred."

"Oh!" Tikki suddenly exclaimed. "Right."

Crossing his arms, Max queried, "What is this?"

Master Fu took out a wooden mortar and pestle and proceeded to crush some leaves. "There are rare instances where when the situation is extremely dire, a kwami can take control over the wielder, granting them additional power and a second chance with their specialty."

"But," Chloe started then paused. "What? How?"

"You already know that kwamis on their own can activate a mighty outburst of their respective abilities." He paused, waiting for their affirmatives as he pushed the leaves he was crushing into a bottle.

They all nodded, and while Max was still mainly confused, things were starting to clear up.

"During dire situations, it can happen that a kwami offers some margin of their individual power. It is a rare occurrence, but the likelihood of it increases as the bond between the kwami and the wielder strengthens."

Adrien ran a hand through his hair. "That explains the green eyes, I suppose?"

"But why'd she faint?" Nath repeated his question from earlier.

Master Fu nodded at Adrien and turned to Nath. "There is a drawback of this phenomenon."

"Drawback? Of course there's a drawback," a voice called out from behind him. Max twisted around and found Nino. "Drawback of what though?"

"Kwamis can lend power and take over the wielder's body," Max filled him in.

His eyebrows flew up and it was almost comical. Trixx looked intrigued. "I didn't know that!"

"Yes, me either," Pollen added.

Chloe raised a hand. "Hold up, how did Tikki know about this but not Trixx or Pollen?"

"Not every single kwami is active at the same time. Also, difference of age," Tikki supplied.

"Huh," Chloe hummed thoughtfully as she leaned back at the desk.

Nathaniel grabbed a chair and sat near the bed. "Back to topic?"

Master Fu poured a...blue solution into the bottle? "The drawback is that it depletes both the wielder's and the kwami's life force."

"So, they both fell unconscious," Nino concluded, leaning against the wall.

"Precisely," Master Fu confirmed while he added some other ingredients into the bottle before shaking it. "The good news is that they both only require rest along with consuming this blend in order to restore their life force."

So, figuratively speaking, they need to charge up.

"Oh, that's why you left the room once Mari used her cataclysm for the second time," Chloe realized.

Master Fu nodded once more. "I was gathering the ingredients required for the herbal mixture."

"So, they're both alright?" Adrien asked hesitantly.

"They are. I trust you'll give them this every six hours?" Master Fu extended his arm, offering Adrien the bottle.

Adrien looked up. "I- Yes, of course!"

Master Fu gave him a soft smile, still extending his arm. Adrien realized and grabbed the bottle while blushing.

"If you need me, I'll be upstairs." With that, Master Fu walked past them and out of the room.

"Well, I, for one, need a shower. I also need to check on Alya cause she's taking forever." Nino bounced off the wall and roamed over to place a hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Update us, man, and don't worry too much. She's a fighter."

Adrien gave him a genuine grin. "Of course, bro." He still appeared to be worried, but Max didn't expect otherwise and didn't blame him.

"You keep an eye on her, Dupain-Cheng," Nathaniel stood up and pointed a finger at Adrien.

Adrien opened his mouth to (probably) retort, but Chloe beat him to it. "There he goes again. The almighty Wonder Bee commanding others and threatening them with their last names."

Nathaniel snapped his head towards Max and narrowed his eyes. " _Kante_ -"

Bu whatever attack on his existence Nath was about to instigate, it got interrupted once again by Chloe. Max can't say he felt bad or regretted any decision. "We get it, _Bourgeois_."

Nathaniel looked a combination of angry, betrayed, and pure sad.

...Okay, he might had felt a bit bad because those two were hopeless. A quick peek at Chloe from the corner of his eye confirms that she didn't notice.

Someone needs to push these to in a closet together. They were always either adorably mushy, or at each others' throats.

He shared a look with Adrien who rolled his eyes and probably decided to intervene before it escalated. "I'll keep an eye on her. You don't need to tell me twice, Nath."

Twice? Well, that's a weird word choice, but it worked nevertheless. Nath turned to look at Adrien and they seemingly shared a meaningful glance.

Well, wasn't that glance spicy and definitely had a backstory? Adrien said 'twice' then they shared a look.

So not suspicious at all.

Eventually Nathaniel let go and stood up to leave, soon followed by Chloe and himself. As he left, he heard Nino asking, "What was that about?"

* * *

Everything hurt like she was extremely sore. But why would she be? What happened earlier?

Her body hurt and her mind was jumbled, but one thing was clear; the hand in her own. She knew it almost as well as her own, so she naturally squeezed back.

There were sounds around her. Somewhere in the...room? Where was she? There was someone leaning next to her. She tried to open her eyes but the lights were too vivid and she immediately squeezed them shut.

There was an exclamation from a familiar voice before the lights dimmed and the sounds started making sense.

"-ri? You with me?"

"Adrien?" There was a slight trembling undertone to his voice that didn't belong there, and she couldn't properly discern why was it there.

There was an exhale of relief before she heard him again. "Yeah, kitty. Can you open your eyes for me?" A hand cupped her cheek and a thumb fondly ran over it.

She dragged her eyelids open and found Adrien's emerald eyes staring right into her eyes.

"They're blue. Oh, good," he mumbled.

She slightly frowned. "What do you mean they're blue?" She thought she was slurring. She probably was.

"Nevermind that." He gave her a smile that only confused her further - if that was even possible. "How do you feel? What do you remember?"

"'m tired."

A frown formed on his face. It definitely didn't belong there on his flawless face.

"'drien? 'm 'kay."

Instead of removing the frown, it intensified it. Why did it take too much effort to even think? She squeezed his hand once to communicate the question she's too worn out (for some unknown reason still) to speak.

Instead of answering her, he whispered, "I told you to be careful."

"Sorry," she murmured because it was the only response she managed, and it was probably her own fault either way (even if she had no idea what happened).

His face softened and his eyes searched hers, looking for something she didn't know. "Don't apologize, you dummy. It's not your fault."

His face...he looked worried. But why would he? What happened? And why was he worried?

All she knew was that she needed that worry off his face.

"'orry."

His thumb brushed her cheek. "Mari-"

But she couldn't what he was about to tell her because sleep overtook her.

* * *

Max looked up from the robot he was repairing when Adrien walked into the lounge. Nathaniel, who was sitting on the counter in the corner with a towel to dry his hair and completely ignoring Max, instantly asked, "Did she wake up?"

Adrien ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, but she fell asleep almost directly after. I don't think she remembers what happened either, but that just might be the disorientation."

Nath nodded, evidently satisfied, and was about to speak but Adrien continued, "And before you ask, Tikki is with her and Plagg. Tikki forced me out to grab something to eat."

Nino strolled in snickering with his phone in his hand. Adrien grabbed an apple off the basket on the counter and threw it at him, but Nino caught it and took a bite. "Thanks, bro."

"Shut it, Nino."

"But it's true. The one creature alive who can force you to take care of yourself is Tikki."

"Hey! That's not true! I can take care of myself!"

Max internally sighed when Nath muttered, "Totally, can't you see how he dresses?"

Adrien twirled onto him. "Bourgeois, stay out of this. And as a matter of fact, my fashion sense is perfect, thank you very much."

"Don't even know how they accepted you into that college, Dupain-Cheng."

Chloe returned with the toolbox he asked her to bring. "So, whatta I miss? Nath just throwing out threats again with last names as spices?"

"What's your deal?" Nath threw his towel at her general direction, but it actually landed on Max himself.

"Thanks for the free, unclean, unasked for towel, Nathaniel," he called back as Chloe exclaimed, "What's _my_ deal? Says the person who's been ever pissed for some reason since the morning!"

Nath glanced between them, and apparently decided to go at him instead of Chloe. "Shut it, Wonder Boy!"

Adrien snorted, "Real original."

"Ha! Who is he? Robin? HA!"

They all paused and turned to look at Nino.

"Get it? Robin the Boy Wonder?" When none of them answered, Nino sighed, "You guys are hopeless. Where's Alya when you need her?"

"You mean because you ramble about comics and dragged her into them," Adrien shot at him.

"Aha! The truth has been revealed, ladies and gentlemen!" Nino gestured at Adrien. "He admits he knows what I'm talking about!"

Nath cut off whatever Adrien was about to remark, "You know who's actually hopeless?-"

"Did I hear someone missing their hope lately? Fear nothing, babies! I'm here to restore all faith!" Max knew that voice very well. That's-

"Kim!" Max exclaimed and stood to greet him. Kim and Alix were just stepping into the lounge from the direction of the entrance of the base. Xuppu and Fluff were zooming in front of them, too.

"You guys are back?!" Chloe asked enthusiastically as she hugged Alix.

Nath made no motion to move as the others got up to greet them and muttered, "Always stating the obvious."

Chloe shot him a look, but otherwise ignored him. "Missed you, Alix!"

Alix gave a smirk. "Missed you too, girl!"

"So, what's that about hopelessness when you got your man Kim right here?" Kim queried once they all hugged and he had an arm over Max's shoulder. He missed his best friend, even if he was undoubtedly goofy half the time.

"Chien Le, Kubdel, fancy to see your faces once more," Nath finally graced them with his presence as he leapt down the counter he was sitting on and walked over to them.

"Ignore him, that's what we all do."

"So," Fluff started, a little too quickly he thought, probably to diffuse the inevitable battle (a cute attempt in his opinion), "Where are the other kwamis?"

Xuppu continued, "As much as we missed you humans, we want to see our kwami-friends."

"More importantly," Kim swatted at his kwami, because Kim's goal in life is to offend his kwami every mere second, "Where are Mari and Al?"

They paused and there was a moment of silence. There must have been something telltale on their faces cause Kim continued. "Guys? Who died?- Ow! Woman!"

Alix pulled back her elbow after jabbing Kim in his ribs. "What happened?"


	23. 22: Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some angst, some fluff, some POVs- oh and yeah, some people never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anddd this is finally the chapter I just updated today on Wattpad, so yay! All's moved.

Contrary to common belief, he did not purposefully pick fights.

...Mostly, anyways.

It wasn't Nath's fault that those irritating morons were so easily offended. He was merely stating the truth. What's up with them?

Contrary to another common belief, he does listen to his comrades. Just the less infuriating ones, like Sabrina and Mari. And...occasionally...Chloe.

At least not when she was trying to pick fights with good old innocent him.

...Not that he liked her or anything-

He was digressing. 

Anyways, so when Sabrina and Mari told him to slightly hold back his forthright opinions on others, he might have taken their advice and attempted to refrain some. But then again, it was definitely not his fault his so-called teammates were so ludicrous most of the time. 

So, it was totally thrilling when the exhibitionist monkey and the admissible Alix returned from their trip a week prior to college (he internally groaned at the thought of college starting in a week from now and him having to deal with even more incorrigibles). And to make matters even better, Mari was still unconscious, sleeping off the whole life force dilemma (not that he was that worried or anything), and Chloe, the only other tolerable person in this adequate building, was currently either ignoring his existence or glaring at him whenever he opened his mouth to speak. 

What did her ever do to her?

(Again, not that he's irritated or hurt that she's lambasting him or anything.)

So, as they all sat down in various spots and filled in Alix and Kim, he stood to the side near the doorway for a while before spinning around and leaving. 

It's not like any of them would actually notice. 

* * *

She noticed.

Chloe observed as Nath quietly left the room while the others continued on conversing.

A part of her, the guilty part, wanted to get up and follow him. To talk to him. But she quickly stomped on that thought. He's the one who was being extra hostile today. She was merely giving him a taste of his own medicine because he had to get it through his thick head that they were all friends here. 

He couldn't just dismiss them and treat them as inferiors whenever Mr. Ego-head was having a bad day or a mood of his.

So she stayed with the rest, even if she was still at war with herself.

"Never a dull moment with you guys, am I right?" Alix remarked once they finished recounting the recent events.

Kim tossed an arm around Alix's shoulders. "Now, where's the fun in that, dear Alixia? This is why I love it around here."

Alix shrugged off his arm. "Ew, don't call me that."

"Or what?" Kim threw back with a lopsided smirk.

Before Alix could lunge at him, or possibly flip him over the couch (not like it never happened before), Adrien cut in, "What about you guys? How was camping?"

Fluff excitedly pounced in front of each of them. "Oo! Oo! It was serene! I loved the weather! And the trees! And the animals! And the sky! And the-"

"As serene as it gets with those two competing over every single thing possible," Xuppu chimed in.

Fluff pouted at being interrupted, and Chloe giggled at her antics. Fluff quickly perked up again. "Oh yes! They kept bickering and turning everything into a competition! It was very much amusing and ridiculous!"

At that, Alix was affronted. "It was so totally _not_! And we didn't bicker over everything."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, A, but you two always bicker over the silliest things," Nino commented.

Chloe raised an eyebrow as Kim let out a very dramatic gasp and clutched his chest. "Nino! How could you? I thought we were bros!"

"As if you don't know it yourself, Kim."

" _Max_! I'm being attacked from all sides!"

"You know?" Alix started. "I'm willing to admit that we do just to nettle you."

Kim melodramatically slid off the couch and onto his knees on the floor. "My only possible ally in this war has backstabbed me before we even could discuss plans." 

"Overly expressive as always, dude?"

Chloe twisted around and found Alya. Huh, she hadn't heard the elevator. 

Nino shot upright. "Al! Where were you?" 

"Eh," Alya waved a dismissing hand, "I got sidetracked, that's all. Sweet to see you again, dudette, dude." She addressed and waved to Alix and Kim.

"Right back at ya, girl."

"Alya! Are you here to back me up?" Kim extended an arm towards Alya.

Alya shifted. "Yeah, no, sorry, dude. Chlo? Wanna come with me to the library?"

Chloe was startled. "Uh- Yeah, sure?"

"Great! Lead the way."

As she got up, she noted the slight frown that formed on Nino's face. And as Alya and her walked out of the room, she was pretty sure she heard Kim saying, "Well, guess I'll just have to relent to the four foot pinkhead." 

She was also pretty sure she saw Alix leaping off the couch and tackling Kim to the floor.

Well, Adrien really tried to postpone the unavoidable. 

"Is everything cool?" Chloe asked her friend once they were out of earshot, heading to the library.

Alya seemed to...scan the path? Or it was just Chloe's imagination. Yeah, definitely the latter. "Uh-huh. Why?"

"Nothing. You just seem...I don't know. Drifting?"

Alya's eyes snapped to her and she grabbed her into a side hug as they strolled. "Everything's cool, dudette."

She gave her a smile. "Good. Oh, and, by the way, Mari's alright. Just resting. Something about life force and that stuff."

Something unreadable crossed Alya's face too quickly for Chloe to try to discern. "That's comforting. I was worried about her, but you know Mar, ever the strong soldier."

But there was a tiny thing bugging her in the back of her mind, and it escaped her mouth before she could probably think. "Then, why did you ask me to come with you to the library before even asking about her?"

"I think I forgot my phone there, and I wanted to talk to you, plus I knew you'd update me," Alya reasoned and nudged her shoulder. 

Well, yeah, that made sense.

They reached the library. She pushed the double doors open. "What about?"

"Ah, you know, about you...and Nath."

She halted in her steps. "Alya, there's nothing-"

"Between us, yeah, yeah, I know." Alya sidestepped her and wandered about for a bit before turning back to her. "Help me look for my phone?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course." 

So, she searched in one side of the library while Al searched in the other. Maybe five minutes later, there was a exclamation of triumph from Alya.

"You found it?" Chloe called to Alya, and headed towards her.

Alya waved her no longer missing phone. "Yeah! Thanks, dudette! It was under one of the shelves." 

There was a distant knock on the library's doorway, and Nino was waiting there. "Hey, Alya? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Coming! See ya, Chlo." 

"Later," she replied as Alya left with Nino. Well, she's already in the library. Might as well pick up something. 

* * *

It was almost seven in the morning when he finally got out of bed. 

Yesterday was pretty eventful if you asked Adrien. After they all chatted for a while and Alya arrived then took Chloe out of the room, Nino waited for some time before leaving with a quicker mutter of an excuse of wanting to check on Alya. He was the next to exit the room, leaving behind Max, Kim and Alix. Though he was certain that Kim and Alix said they wouldn't stay here that night. 

As he headed towards his room, he stopped by Mari's to check on her and give her and Plagg that weird blue mixture Master Fu concocted. She was still out of it, and he thought that she hadn't even shifted in her sleep. He might have stayed longer there, but Tikki started glaring at him, kindly advising him to rest. He compromised when Tikki agreed to alert him if Marinette woke up. 

So, imagine his surprise when he, after switching his clothes, clumsily combing his tousled hair with his fingers, and grabbing a banana from the kitchen, came into Mari's room to find an empty bed and no kwamis in sight.

His first instinct, as Adrien Dupain-Cheng, was to start panicking and worrying.

Silly of him, most of the time, but he wasn't denying that fact. Everyone knew he panicked first, and thought second. Except, maybe, as Ladbug.

He thoroughly glanced around the room, but, as he was about to turn back, considering that they might have left the room, he heard voices from the hallway. So he spun around and found Mari stepping into the room while drying her hair with a towel. She was wearing an oversize sweatshirt and some shorts. Tikki and Plagg were floating beside her, the latter holding a piece of Camembert.

Plagg was whining about something, but he didn't concentrate on what he was saying because he was too busy staring into Mari's blue (they were blue again- the lovely shade of blue that's so Marinette that he adores). When her eyes locked onto his, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. 

She was startled, he could tell, but she quickly relaxed and hugged him back as he distantly noted that Plagg stopped chattering.

He ruffled her hair affectionately, dully realizing that it was wet and that she probably just took a shower. He breathed in her shampoo smell as relief flooded him. 

She tightened her grip around his back before whispering, "You okay?"

He gave a laughter which he was fairly positive was on the edge of hysterics. "Am _I_ okay?" He paused for a moment then mumbled, "You're not allowed to do that ever again."

Her chuckle vibrated throughout his chest. "Didn't plan to."

"Wait," he pulled back only slightly, "Do you remember what happened?"

She scrunched her nose and replied, "Not that well, but Tiks and Plagg filled me in."

At the mention of the kwamis, Adrien averted his eyes towards his own kwami. "I thought we had a deal."

"We did!" Tikki defended. "But you were finally sleeping, so I took the time to recount yesterday's full events to them."

He levelled a halfhearted glare at Tikki, which made Mari huff a laugh as she bent down to pick up her towel that had evidently been dropped when he hugged her.

He switched his attention back to Mari, eyes scanning her to make sure she's alright. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you still feel tired? Do you want me to call Master-?"

"Woah, whoa, calm down. Deep breaths." There was some mirth in her eyes, which were a little duller than usual but they were awake and not as tired as before. And blue-

She gently grabbed his hand and led them to the bed to sit. "I'm okay." 

At his disbelieving narrowed eyes, she gave a smile and distractedly caressed his knuckles with her thumb. "I really am. Maybe a little sleepy, but all good. _Purr_ mise."

He didn't even have the heart to groan at the terrible pun. In fact, it brought him some solace. 

"Does no one care if _I'm_ okay? I'm wounded," Plagg complained as he tossed the last bit of his cheese into the air and swallowing it as a whole.

"As long as you're eating like that, Plagg, you're all well," Tikki quipped.

"Sugarcube, don't be like that. You know you love me."

"Stinky sock, stop calling me that."

Adrien raised an eyebrow and turned to Marinette, "Remind you of someone?"

"You know, I could say the same thing about you, too." She flicked his nose, and he scrunched it up. 

She leaned back and tilted her head, watching him with nearly lidded eyes. "Adorable."

He most definitely did not blush. 

So, since he did not blush, he changed the subject. "Promise me you'll never do that again."

She moved forward again and grimaced. "You know you can't ask me that."

He wanted to cross his arms, but she tightened her hold over his hand. "Why not?"

"I-" Mari grimaced more and looked to the side before turning back to him. "I don't even know how it happened, Adrien. It's not like it's a button or something. It just...happened."

"It happens in dire circumstances, and the wielder and the kwami have to be in sync," Tikki helpfully informed them as she settled down on Adrien's knee.

Plagg stretched, his tail whipped left and right, before he zoomed down onto the bed next to Mari's other hand. "You slip into it. Once it starts, you can't just retreat or whatever. Also, both the wielder and kwami have to be willing to do what it takes."

"And because everyone's miraculous was about to be taken and we would have lost, Chatte slipped into that advanced form," Tikki concluded.

"Well, that's nice to know," Mari muttered, but her eyes weren't focused, and he knew what she was thinking about.

He nudged her with his foot. "Hey, stop that."

She looked at him from under her bangs. "Adrien-"

"No," he interrupted. "We already discussed this. It happened once and it was _not_ your fault, kitty."

She gazed at the floor and shuffled her foot, tracing meaningless patterns on the carpet. "It kinda was."

He frowned then noticed as Plagg bumped into her free hand, saying, "You know it wasn't, Mar."

He had a feeling she was about to stand up, so, before she could, he squeezed her hand once and reached out a hand to tenderly lift her chin so that she was facing him. "We said it before. I said this once, and I'll say it for as many times as you need me to until you believe it yourself. What happened that night _was not your fault_. If anything, you did your best and you _saved_ us."

He could tell from the dreary look in her eyes that she didn't quite believe it yet, but she still relented and marginally nodded.

But that's okay, because he was going to stick to his word. He'll repeat it for as many times as she needed.

"So," she breathed, air tickling his thumb that was lightly stroking her cheek, "Anything exciting happened yesterday?"

It wasn't a subtle subject change, but he knew Mari well enough to know that any additional prodding would only make things harder. So, he dropped the hand previously holding her chin and let her change the topic, pondering over the question before replying. "Well, Alix and Kim came back last night."

Light danced in her crystal blue eyes once again and a small grin crawled onto her face. "I knew something went down."

"Hm?" 

"For one, the lounge looked like a hurricane struck it, which means that someone wrestled there. Fingers point to Kim and Alix." She paused, thinking, before adding, "Or at least I hoped it wasn't Nath and Chlo."

That earned her a snicker from him, but it was Tikki who responded. "I'd hope the same."

"But with those two? It's impossible to predict what'll happen," Plagg continued.

"Are they still here, or did they leave last night?"

"Mari, if they were actually here, don't you think everyone would have heard them and woken up already?"

She considered his statement for a moment before nodding. "Good point. Even if it's seven in the morning and the sun hasn't risen yet. Wouldn't put it past them."

He thought for a second then blurted out, "Wanna go out?"

Mari gazed at him. "Adrien Dupain-Cheng," she finally said, "Are you asking me on a date?"

And cue the blushing. Somehow, even after those years, she still managed to make him fluster over the simplest things.

"I- We're already dating," he stammered.

"Is that a no?" Marinette asked with a smirk, adding to his further embarrassment.

"I- Yes- _Wait_ \- I mean- No-"

She chortled and stood up, her hand slipping from where it was joined with his and he was already missing the sensation.

"Just messing with you, bugger boy. Where to?" Mari questioned and headed forward to grab something probably, but he didn't know what exactly and won't know because, in a peculiar moment of confidence, he reached out a hand and gripped her wrist. He spun her around as he got off the bed and kissed her on the lips.

He could tell she was startled because she froze for a moment before she kissed back and entwined their fingers. When they pulled back, he noticed the light pink blush adorning her cheeks and nose. He beamed as she gave him a soft, genuine smile. 

"Full of sur _purr_ ises, aren't you, Wonderbug?"

And that, that exactly right there, that loving gaze in her eyes only served as further determination to him. He won't let her fall into a dark place. She almost did once, but this time, he'll make sure she wouldn't even be teetering on the edge.

Tikki glided over him and perched on his shoulder while Plagg hovered above and landed on Mari's midnight blue cloud of hair. 

"Come on, you slowpokes, I'm hungry," Plagg griped.

"Of course you are," Mari grumbled, but there was a fond, content look in her eyes that he will do anything to pin there.

_Anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this the... calm before the storm   
> ( Wink   
> Wink )


	24. 23: Hold Your Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino discovers something as he bumps into Mari. The gang receives some...news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hOLDDDD YOUR BREATH AND BEAR WITH ME, FRIENDS <3

She rolled around in her bed, softly groaning.

After Adrien and her returned last night, Marinette wanted to go back to her apartment. Well, more accurately, Alya's and her apartment. The one they're sharing for college. The one Mari moved into after the whole ordeal almost a year ago. The one Alya slowly moved into as well because she was that much of a loyal, sweet, supportive friend. But Adrien didn't want her to be on her own, just in case something happened. He honestly worried too much.

She reluctantly agreed to stay in the HQ, even though everyone, save Master Fu, was gone to their own homes. Besides, it was weekend, so Alya was probably staying at her parents'.

So, after he made sure she took that weird bluish mixture Master Fu assembled for her and Plagg, Adrien bid her a good night and took his leave. She stayed up a little longer before she retreated back to her bed.

Now, as she rolled onto her stomach, she guessed that the time was eight, or nine. She could hear some soft noises, indicating that Plagg was up and attempting to do something. She was about to fall back to sleep again when her phone tinged and lit up.

She twisted to her side and reached out a hand to grab her phone from the nightstand. It was a text from Adrien.

_Are you awake?_

She quickly glanced at the time before replying. Ha, she was right. It was, in fact, eight-thirty in the morning.

_Yeah._

She scrubbed at her eye while Adrien replied.

_How are you feeling? Still tired?_

_Gucci, not too sleepy._

The next text slightly alarmed her.

_Can you come to the bakery?_

She knew Adrien was at his parents' bakery seeing as it was Sunday, but it sounded like something had happened. She shuffled to sit upright, alarmed and wide awake now. She realized she didn't answer when her phone tinged twice in a row.

_If you don't feel up to it, it's okay._

_I can fill you in later._

Fill her in? Okay, now, something _definitely_ happened.

_No, no, I'm coming. Is everything okay?_

She started to get up from the bed, stumbling as she brushed her hair back with a hand. The room was dark, though she was used to seeing in the darkness thanks to being Chatte Noire. "Plagg?"

_I'm alright, don't worry. Just...I'll show you guys when you come here._

'Guys'. That means he called the others, too. That also means that it's evidently something team related. She sighed and typed out a response as Plagg appeared in front of her.

_On my way <3_

"Hey! Are we going somewhere?"

She nodded at Plagg as she started to braid her hair. "Yeah, Adrien said to meet him at the bakery."

"Something happened?" Plagg questioned, probably sensing her worry or something. Her phone tinged again as she opened her closet.

_Love you <3_

She paused in her hurry and took a breath in. "Yeah, but Adrien says he's fine."

_Uno reverse card, bugger boy_

Plagg floated on his back, his tail swiping beneath him. "You think Adrien has some Camembert pastry?"

One look at Plagg made her realize he said that just to lighten the mood and calm her. Plagg was sweet like that.

Adrien sent her a laughing emoji and a heart that mitigated the alarm bells sounding in her head. She threw her phone back on her bed and turned to flick Plagg's tail for his remark before she changed into a sleeveless purple turtleneck and some jeans.

"You're always hungry."

"Only for my one love! My dear Camembert!" Plagg protested.

Marinette picked up a cross bag and placed her phone into it before opening it wider.

"Hop in, and strap the seat belts."

Plagg gave her a look. "You better not throw the bag around."

"Who? Me? I don't do such things!"

Plagg crossed his arms and, while zooming into the bag, jerked his tail towards her nose. She scrunched her nose and tugged his ear before flipping the bag closed. She headed out of the empty place - save Master Fu who she didn't bump into.

It was when she almost reached the bakery, passing across the park near Adrien's house, that some blockhead sneered at her direction, muttering, "Hawkmoth's daughter, stay in line."

She all but ignored him, plainly leveling him with a glare and clenching her fist around her bag's strap. She trudged forward a few steps, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Who you calling Hawkmoth's daughter?"

She whirled around-

Nino?!

Nino shoved the weirdo by his shoulders, and he looked mad. She hurried back to them.

"What's your deal, mate? She is his daughter. Everyone knows that. Have you been living under a rock?"

There was this dangerous glint in Nino's eyes. "It's not her fault, dumbass! Are you that dense-"

"Nino!"

He turned towards her, and grimaced. "What?"

"Let it go, Nino. He's just some jerk." She placed her hand on his upper arm, slowly pulling him away.

She dragged Nino for a while before he pulled out of her grasp, halting. She paused, sighing, before she faced him.

"Why didn't you correct him? Why'd you just let him say that to you?"

And this, this right there, was exactly why she didn't want any of them knowing. She internally groaned.

"It won't do any good, and you know that. It'll just confirm their belief-"

" _Their_?" Nino crossed his arms. "Backtrack a bit."

Marinette looked away, pulling at her braid, then gazed back at him. "Listen, it's not everyone-"

"Not everyone?! Marinette, what the hell? Why didn't you tell us?" He was waving his hands around, and he wasn't listening.

"Ugh, Nino! You weren't supposed to know because I can handle it. It's fine!"

He paused in his gestures and his features softened. "No one said you can't handle it, Mar. But, also, no one said you have to handle it alone."

She frowned against the morning's sun rays. She grabbed the back of her elbow and swayed slightly. "I know, but..."

She trailed off, gazing at the grass patches under them, not sure what to say.

She heard Nino sigh before a hand came over her shoulder. "We could have helped you. Does no one know?"

She traced the stones' patterns with her eyes, mumbling, "Nath accidentally found out a month ago, or so."

"So, you really weren't going to intentionally tell any of us?"

Mari stayed silent.

Nino let a breath out, and softly asked, "Why?"

She inhaled weakly then shrugged Nino's hand off her shoulder. "Doesn't matter."

He tilted his head downwards to catch her eye. "It does."

"Why does it?" She gripped her elbow tighter.

"Because," he paused as he placed his hand over her own, causing her to loose her grip over her elbow, "it matters to you."

She lifted her gaze to meet his, searching his eyes. She swallowed forcibly.

"I still don't get why you didn't tell us, why you thought it'll be better to hide it from us." Because she didn't want to be a burden. Because she didn't want to appear weak in front of them, weaker than she already seemed. Because they had bigger issues to worry about, and this wasn't significant. But she didn't say any of those reasons, opting to stay quiet. "But...will you tell Adrien?"

That jerked her out of her head.

"What? No! And neither will you."

He frowned. "But, Mari-"

"But nothing. You have to promise me." She glared at him.

He didn't reply for a moment. "Why are you so persistent that he doesn't know?" Nino finally questioned.

Too many reasons.

"He worries too much," she settled on saying. "I got this covered, and we have bigger fish to fry."

He stared at her for a bit, dropping his hand from over hers.

"Please?"

He ran a hand through his dark bronze brown hair. "Fine, if you promise me something."

"Yeah?" Marinette prompted.

His gaze on her was unwavering. "Promise me you'll talk to me if it gets too much, and that you'll eventually tell Adrien."

She blinked. "Eventually?"

"When you feel ready," he sighed. "When you get over whyever you wouldn't tell us, or him."

She calmed down a bit inside. He understood, even though he actually didn't really.

She felt her bag wiggle as something hit her thigh. She brushed a hand over her bag, and, if she hit it, it was totally accidental.

Marinette closed her eyes for a second before opening them and cracking a small grin. " _Purr_ omise."

He didn't seem irritated by the pun. In fact, he gave her his own smirk. She looked at him pointedly.

"Promise."

A comfortable silence crawled over them for a moment, or two. Nino broke it. "So, Adrien texted you, too?"

Her eyes fluttered. "Oh, yes. Lead the way?"

"Be my guest."

They didn't talk much the rest of the way to Adrien's, but as they caught sight of the bakery at the corner of the road, Marinette bumped her shoulder into Nino's.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"I know we don't always get along, but I-"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Same, bro."

He caught her eye and smiled.

They reached the bakery, and Nino pushed the door open. The bell ringed, and Adrien appeared from the door of the stairway leading to his house.

"Hey!" Adrien waved at them. "What took you guys so long?"

Marinette didn't say anything, waiting to see what Nino will say.

"I bumped into one of my friends, and we talked for a while. What's up, man?"

"Right, come up." As Adrien climbed the stairs back up, they followed him. Mari shot Nino a grateful look. He raised his eyebrow playfully.

* * *

Nino ascended the stairs with Mari in tow of Adrien.

He definitely still didn't get why Marinette hid all this from them. He didn't even comprehend _how_ she managed to hide it. He was pretty sure they should have heard about this somewhere, or another. But they didn't, and that was what weirded him out. Even Alya, apparently, didn't know. Only Nath, as Mari told him, discovered this accidentally.

He ran a blog; how didn't he know about this?

For whatever reason, Marinette didn't want any of them, especially Adrien, to know. He didn't know why. He could only wonder. But he made a promise, and she made one too. That, and only that, gave him some peace of mind.

Excluding this whole public ordeal, Mari already went through enough after that big battle. Everyone knew that, and, in case any of them forgot (although they can't, and won't), Adrien made sure everyone stayed aware of that fact. Adrien was the one who knew exactly how hard it was on her.

But he was starting to think that even Adrien didn't completely grasp what she went through.

As they passed by Adrien's living room, heading up to his room, they found Sabine. Sabine, yes, not Mrs. Cheng because she insisted on them calling her Sabine. (And, maybe, because she may have threatened to cut their pastry privileges.)

"Good morning, my dears! How are you doing?" Sabine placed down the teapot she was carrying to wave at them.

Nino waved back. "All good. How're you?"

She approached them, hugging him then Mari, who muttered that she's good as well. But Sabine didn't let Mari's statement pass.

Sometimes, he thought Sabine was the only one whose concern Mari couldn't dismiss.

Sabine pulled back slightly from Mari and furrowed her eyebrow. She cupped Marinette's cheek. "Are you alright, sweetie? You look tired."

Mari tilted her head, leaning into Sabine's touch, and smiled quietly. "I'm okay. Promise."

Because she couldn't exactly tell her about the whole akuma attack and life force trouble, Nino mused. Still, no one can escape Sabine's careful, considering eye.

"Are you sure? Would you like some green tea?"

He noticed as Mari glanced at Adrien, who was standing ahead of them, behind his mom. He looked briefly at Adrien, noting his expression. A mix of soft adoration, worry, and...something unreadable.

"Sure. Thank you."

Sabine smiled fondly and nodded. "Of course, my dear. Now, go upstairs. Your friends are waiting. I'll send you some treats and tea soon."

"Thanks, Mom." Adrien reached back and lifted the trapdoor to his room. Mari went up the stairs, and Nino slowly followed, pausing to glance at Adrien.

For some reason, that unreadable expression looked oddly like guilt or regret...which made zero sense.

"Something wrong, bro?" Nino asked, vaguely listening as Mari greeted the others. He heard some yells. Guess Alix and Kim were here, too.

"Yeah, come on. I need to show you something."

'Something' turned out to be the wall near his bed, and wasn't the wall a sight?

The normal pale wall was...vandalized. It was covered with red paint all over. Spots of red paint eerily similar to blood were scattered over the wall's range. But that wasn't the main issue. Their main problem was located at the center of the wall, written in some chicken scratch, horror movie-like handwriting.

_'We know who you are. We know where to find you **all**.'_

"It was like that when I came home. My parents didn't see it, thankfully."

"Horrific, amirite?" Kim remarked.

Oh, yeah, the others. That's when he registered the others seated in various places in Adrien's room.

Alya waved to him with two fingers from where she was sitting on Adrien's desk, near the window. Nathaniel was lying across the chaise. Max sat on the long chest. He nodded at Nino in greeting. Alix was standing near the chest, with an arm swung around Mari's shoulder. She offered him a peace sign. Kim was...suspiciously collapsed on the floor in front of Max and Alix, but, at the same time, it was kinda normal with those two. Chloe was leaning against the dresser.

The kwamis were dispersed across the room. Fluff was clambering over Adrien's mannequin. Tikki was floating in front of the victimized wall, observing it. Pollen was messing around, striking poses in the mirror. Xuppu was...in the sink?

Nino'll never get that pair. He didn't know who was weirder: the wielder, Kim, or the kwami, Xuppu.

Adrien slid into the desk chair, gesturing a hand upward. "Now, that we're all here. We kinda have a problem that's slowly increasing in size."

Trixx zoomed out of his hoodie's pocket, and- Wait a second, where's Wayzz?

He narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the room, but he found no trace of the tiny green bean. He made note to ask Alya later.

"I see you got yourself a change of decor," Mari commented while making her way to the chaise. Alix sat down on the chest next to Max - Kim stayed chilling on the floor, though he moved to lean his back on the chest.

Mari pushed Nath's leg with her bag. "Scooch over." He did as she asked while glaring halfheartedly. She dropped her bag near her foot, and Plagg emerged out, but merely rolled over the bag. As Nino made his way to the stairs to sit, he thought he heard Nath hitting Marinette's knee with his foot, whispering, "Don't do that again." He probably heard correctly as Mari threw back, "Love you, too."

"Since we've been gone for a while, can someone recap? What's up with that phrase?" Alix asked.

Alix and Kim were official yet unofficial team members. During the summer, they went on some camping trip and they came back two days ago. As Chloe filled them both in, Nino leaned over to his left to murmur to Alya, "Where's Wayzz?"

She snapped her head towards him. "Uh- Wayzz's...with Master Fu."

That was just another recent thing that weirded, and worried him. Alya's been acting kinda strangely. He had talked to her about it two days ago, asking her if something's up, but she quickly dismissed his questions.

He still thought something odd was going on, but he was willing to let it go for the moment.

He jerked back into the conversation as Kim said, "So, basically, you guys have been receiving very ominous messages with the very same phrase in different places for quite some time, and...you just...waited?"

Max flicked the back of Kim's head. "It's not like we had anything to do, or anything to go on about."

"But now," Adrien started, "It's getting more serious. First, Nino's parents' place last week. Then, my parents'."

"They added a new line this time," Tikki supplied from above the bed.

Chloe crossed her arms. "'We know where to find you.' Whoever they are, they made that very obvious."

"Don't forget the 'all' part," Nath added.

There was a momentary lapse that was broken by Alix. "...Who does that include?"

"It could be anyone we know who once used a miraculous," Alya pondered.

Mari leaned back on her palms. "Or anyone we know."

"That's exactly why we need to check in with everyone. Especially the ones who have or used to have a miraculous," Adrien concluded.

"So, what, are we gonna make a list?" Alya joked. At least, Nino thought she was joking.

"Max and I got it covered," Chloe stated, glancing at Max to make sure he's on board. She received a nod and a thumbs up.

Nino ran a hand through his hair. "Is it just me, or is it getting bigger and more serious with every passing day?"

"It's definitely not just you, man," Kim replied.

Alya straightened. "So, what's the game plan, dudes?"

"Game plan," Mari snickered, looking pointedly at Alya. When Alya didn't return the look, Marinette frowned. Huh, that seemed abnormal.

Whatever just happened, the moment was broken by a knock on the trapdoor, causing all kwamis to zoom out of sight. It was pushed open, and Sabine appeared from the staircase.

"I brought you some snacks and drinks, kids." She smiled at them while raising the tray, handing it to Adrien, who got up to help his mom.

"Thanks, again, Mom."

"If you need anything, I'll be down in the bakery. Tom is still out for that delivery."

"Will do, bye!" Adrien called out as his mom closed the trapdoor and retreated downstairs.

"So, the plan?" Nathaniel prompted after the tray was passed around, and everyone, including the kwamis, grabbed something.

"You should call the other miraculous users," Pollen started.

Fluff bounced on top of the mannequin. "We should also be extra careful! Like super duper careful!"

Fluff was probably the cutest kwami to ever exist.

That wasn't an opinion. It's a known statement. Though, maybe sometimes Fluff could be a little too overboard.

"Why don't we just take the high way, and face them first?" Xuppu questioned.

Trixx flew over to the sink, "We can't. They know everything about us while we know almost nothing."

"Trixx's right," Plagg yawned. "Let's just keep hiding in literal plain sight."

"We don't really have another choice," Tikki floated down and landed on Mari's bag, sitting next to Plagg. "All we can do is wait for their next move, and look out for one another."

"Something tells me we won't have to wait for too long," Mari mused, shifting the cup of tea in her hands to press her palms against it.

Adrien continued, "Which means, we have to use every quiet moment wisely, cause we never know when the next akuma attack would be."

"Or when the next threat would be," Nath and Chloe simultaneously added. They turned to each other with wide eyes before Chloe smiled.

Those two, as cute as they were at times, gave him a headache.

Kim stretched his legs. "This whole thing will blow in our faces sooner than we expect, and it won't be a fun explosion."

Alix raised an eyebrow. "What kind of explosion is fun to you?"

Kim twisted to face her. "Lots, actually. First-"

"Let's not waste time, shall we?" Nath interrupted curtly.

"Buzzkill."

"Hey, Adrien, bathroom's downstairs, right?" Alya asked.

Adrien distractedly answered, "Yeah, second floor."

Alya murmured a thanks then made her way downstairs. They were quiet for a bit, silently thinking to theirselves, before Max stood up, stretching his arms. "Well, we shouldn't waste time, so-"

Nino's phone beeped. He was about to ignore it, if it weren't for the fact that everyone else's phones tinged.

It was awfully silent. They all stared at each other for a second. Then, they each grabbed their phone and swiped it open. And-

_Shit._

It was a picture of Ella and Etta in their room from an unknown, private number.

There was also a text accompanying it. With a number-

"One: we know who you are," Alix read.

A beat passed before Max spoke up. "Two: we know where to find you all."

Nath was next. "Three: we know how to find you all."

An agonizing moment of silence crawled over them.

"Um," Xuppu started. "Who has four?"

No one spoke up. That's when he realized- "Oh!" He spun around and grabbed Alya's phone from where it was on Adrien's desk. He found a photo of Chris, her little brother, and another text.

"Four: we know everything you have hidden, even the things you have hidden from each other..." Nino trailed off as they glanced at one another. He picked up his own phone. "Five: we know who are your loved ones."

"Six," Chloe vocalized, "We know which of you have a miraculous and which of you who don't."

Kim rubbed his head. "Seven: you can't hide from us."

Adrien continued, "Eight: because we see all, and we know all about you, including-"

Mari had the ninth part. "Your identities. You have seventy-two hours to hand over your miraculous."

Then, Mari flipped her phone to show them all the picture she got.

It was a picture of them, right there, right then.

"Or your identities will be revealed to the world, and your loved ones will be endangered. You can attempt to figure out who we are, but you'll pathetically fail, and only waste your precious time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...sorry not sorry?  
> *throws hearts*


	25. 24: Brace Myself For The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team meeting at Adrien's, Max's insight at HQ, a bunny and a monkey race, and Mari might be going crazy :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention last chapter:  
> Chapter title 'Hold Your Breath' is from Ruelle's song...well...'Hold Your Breath'
> 
> This chapter's title is from a fan song by bethjcrowley (on youtube) called 'Warrior'
> 
> Longest chapter (so far) ahead!! yay

_72 hours remaining._  
_Around 12pm Sunday._

There was a stillness in the air following the last line Mari had read. 

They gazed at one another, but no words were exchanged. Each was silently contemplating. Adrien didn't know what to do or say. Their parents, siblings, and friends were in danger now because of them. This person - or persons - had kept quiet for almost a year now. Then, the warnings started coming consecutively, and the situation was slowly escalating.

At this point, if they didn't act correctly, one of them will get hurt. Whether it would be one of them, the kwamis, or their family and friends.

But this wasn't the time to panic, he told himself.

They had to prevent that. It wasn't an option. Protecting Paris was their job. 

They'd do anything they can to keep everyone safe and sound. 

But how could they do that when they had practically no clue from where the attacks are coming. From who. What can they possibly do that will get them a step closer to the enemy?

The moment was broken when the trapdoor suddenly opened, revealing Alya. She climbed quietly, but then evidently noticed the tension in the air. "...Did something happen?"

They shortly filled her in. 

"So, what will we do?" Chloe started.

"What we can do," Mari replied, a heat in her eyes that made him fall in love all over again. "We can't just give up."

Nino added, "We, also, can't just let them hurt our families, or innocent people."

"I'm sorry. Are you all missing the part where we know virtually nothing about them?" Nath asked, crossing his arms.

"Well." Kim shrugged. "What are you suggesting, then? We sit like ducks? Haven't you guys already done that? Where'd it get you?"

"Kim's right," Max agreed. "We need to contact the others, and we need to get some kind of upper hand in this situation."

"Contacting the others is easy. But...how do you suggest we get a step up?" Chloe questioned.

Tikki floated towards him. "We could patrol."

"Haven't you guys already been doing that? What's the difference now?" Alix said.

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, but now we'll be looking for other things. Not just akumas. People trailing us. Someone suspicious. Checking on friends and family."

"So," Alya started, "We all patrol? Shouldn't we divide tasks, or something?"

She was right. They couldn't just patrol all together. They had to play this smart.

"We already said Max and Chlo will be contacting the others," Plagg inserted.

Pollen zoomed to sit on the chaise's arm. "But why should we patrol? Isn't that the equivalent of putting ourselves out in the open and vulnerable to attack?"

"They know how to find us wherever we are, Pollen," Trixx stated. "We need to catch a slip from them."

"Besides!" Fluff bounced. "We won't be completely vulnerable! You'll have your powers and weapons and- and- You should be in teams! Or pairs patrolling together, so that everyone has backup and stays safe!"

"Right," Adrien started, standing up. "Max, Chloe, you warn others and check in with them." He got two thumbs up from them. "Mari, Nath, you two will patrol North." They nodded. "Nino, Alya, you patrol-"

"Actually," Alya interrupted, "Wouldn't it be quicker to contact the others if I helped along?"

He frowned, not missing the looks both Mari and Nino sent Alya, who ignored them. 

"I mean, if you don't need Alya in patrols, she can help," Chloe suggested.

"Then, who'll be with Nino?" Xuppu asked.

Tikki concluded, "You'll be odd, then."

Nino shrugged. "It's okay, I don't mind. I could go alone-"

"No." Adrien shook his head. "No one goes alone. Alix, Kim, you patrol South. Mari, Nino, North. Nath and I will help Master Fu prepare the potions. Something tells me we'll need plenty."

Everyone muttered some affirmative. Max said, "So, we have four out on patrol to discern some clue, and make sure everything's quiet."

"We don't need everyone on patrol. Just enough to have backup in case anything goes down," Mari concurred, though she seemed slightly distracted to him. He tried to catch her gaze, but she was looking at the floor.

"Everyone keeps comms on at all times, and stays with their partner." Adrien glanced at each of them, earning himself a nod. 

"Oh, yeah," Max said, grabbing something from his pocket, "Kim, Alix, here are your comms." 

As they took them, Kim muttered, "Oh, hey! Mine has a tiny monkey! That's cute."

"Check in with comms if you find anything," Adrien concluded.

Everyone started standing up, waving or mumbling good bye, when Mari requested, "Hey, Max, Chlo," she paused as the people in question turned to her after Alya, Kim, Alix, and the two kwamis left, "Try to keep an eye on comms, okay? Make sure everyone stays online and on path. There are trackers, right?"

"Yeah, correct," Max replied.

Chloe nodded. "Sure thing."

Mari nodded absently, and they both climbed down the stairs, leaving Mari, Nino, Nath, and himself - with their kwamis, of course.

"What's that about?" Adrien asked.

She leaned down to grab her bag, and threw it over her shoulder. "Just...a bad feeling." She turned to look at him. Her sapphire eyes were troubled, pouring into his own, almost asking if he understood.

And, of course, he did. They wouldn't have been partners for years if he couldn't understand her. He trusted her fully and blindly.

"Not gonna lie, man, same. Something's wrong and I'm not sure what exactly," Nino interjected.

Adrien turned to face Nino and Nath, who were standing nearby his left with the kwamis hovering around them. 

Now, he himself didn't have a bad feeling about this. Or, more accurately, he did, but it was about their general condition, and it was probably because he worries excessively. But, if his girlfriend and his best friend, the two most important people in his life (besides his parents), said something was wrong, he believed them.

Nath said, "I'm not sure if this is too easy or too difficult, but something is definitely going down."

"I only fear it'll be too late when we do realize," Tikki voiced.

That was true. Something was happening and they were completely oblivious to it. It would, most probably, be too late when they find out what's going on. He just hoped nothing too bad happened to any of them. Last battle with the original Hawkmoth...things went down too quickly, and none of them saw it coming, but when it did-

"Hey."

Bright sapphire eyes stared into his own, breaking him out of his reverie. Almost as if Mari knew what he was thinking.

"Nothing'll happen this time. We got this, okay?"

And, as Mari's determined eyes bored into him, how could he not believe her?

"Yeah, we do, so, don't worry, sugarcube," Plagg said as he wrapped his tail around Tikki.

Nino patted his shoulder. "We'll keep lookout."

"And, we'll be potion-mixing like some witches," Nath announced.

"You'd make a cool witch, Nath," Nino remarked, causing Nathaniel to glare at him.

"I mean," Mari started, "He isn't exactly wrong. When we were nine, Nath dressed as a witch on Halloween. It was all fun, especially when he accidentally tripped over his broomstick and landed in a puddle of mud. It definitely added to the aesthetic-"

Nath punched her arm. "Hey! You said you wouldn't mention it again, traitor."

"The majestic King Bee tripping over his own broomstick," Trixx snickered.

Pollen perked up. "Never a dull moment, my king!" 

Nath groaned as they chuckled. "Can we get back to our jobs? Or are you all slacking off? I'll tell Master Fu on you."

"Drama queen's right, though." Mari pecked Adrien on his cheek. "Come on, Nino."

Adrien nodded, gesturing to Nath to move. "Remember to keep an open mind, guys."

"And eyes," Nino added seriously.

"And ears," Marinette added on.

"How am I the dramatic one?" Nath grumbled.

Looking around at his friends joking as their kwamis snickered while zooming away to hide, Adrien realized that they had come a long way from that battle. Things were different now. They truly stood a chance against the unknown enemy, and they will protect everyone else, and each other. 

As they walked down the stairs and out of the bakery, Mari brushed her hand against his. She whispered, "We're okay. Don't worry too much, love."

Ahead of them, Nathaniel slapped Nino's hand off his shoulder, complaining about something as Nino laughed along.

Yeah, they were indeed okay. More than okay, even. 

They'll stand united against whatever comes at them.

It's their duty to protect Paris, to protect innocent people, and to protect one another.

He smiled at Mari.

They got this. 

* * *

_70 hours remaining._  
_Around 2pm Sunday._

The elevator slid open, letting Adrien and Nathaniel in by the time Max, Chloe, and Alya finished explaining to Master Fu what happened, and who was doing what.

Adrien stopped in front of them. "Master Fu-"

Master Fu raised a hand. "They informed me, young one. There's no time to waste; we need to start gathering the ingredients and preparing the potions. Follow me." 

With that, Master Fu turned and trod forward, and Adrien quickly followed with Nath after exchanging a glance with the others. 

"Well," Max started, "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

They had to call their friends. Those who still had a miraculous, those who once had a miraculous, and those who had no clue about their other activities (That category wasn't as huge as one'd imagine). So, Max lead the way to the monitors and their computer setup, with the other two trailing behind him. 

They already distributed the tasks. Chloe will get the contacts they needed to check in with, Alya would help her, and he would keep an eye on comms and call whoever Chloe tells him to.

Chloe ended up making a list - like Alya joked earlier - to make sure they didn't miss anyone. Max thought it was efficient enough. While Chloe made the list with Alya's aid, Max observed the monitors and the locations of those on patrol. Everyone seemed on path. Alix and Kim were due South, and Marinette and Nino were towards North. Though..wait a minute. That's weird. Huh, he made a note to fix the system; it seemed that there was a bug.

All was quiet for the moment.

But he couldn't help but think it as the calm before the storm. 

* * *

_67 hours remaining._  
_Around 5pm Sunday._

They had been patrolling for a while now, and everything was peaceful.

That was if you excluded a certain someone's whining that it was too boring.

A sigh was puffed from her right. 

"Would you cut that out?" Bunnyx asked.

"Oh, come on, bun bun," King Monkey replied, gesturing to the streets around them as they stood on a high rooftop, "You're bored, too. Admit it."

"Bun bun?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Okay, first, don't call me that ever again unless you wanna lose a finger. Second, even if I was bored, at least I'm not whining about it like a baby."

He threw his hand to his chest. "A baby? How could you? I thought we had something!"

She rolled her eyes. "Boring or not, monkey boy, we have a duty. So, suck it up."

He raised his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. It's just that we haven't been in action since a long time; it's getting boring. Just saying, fluffy tail."

"Fluffy?-" she groaned and turned to scout the area. "Sure, monkey ass. We're almost done, anyway. It'll be LB and KB's turn next."

"Hey! You like that ass!"

She twirled to face him. "What are you? Three?"

"Well, if I was three, that'll be a shame for you. Cause, then, you'll be shorter than a three year old-"

She kicked his shin, causing him to stumble. "Shut up! You're just a portable tree walking amongst us."

"Tell you what," Kim said with a grin. "How about a good old race?"

See, years might have passed, but Kim was still that dumbshit fifteen-year-old lad. He might have gotten taller (Alix did, too. It wasn't her fault they're all giants.), and his hair had grown longer (then, he cut it. She, too, had an on and off relation with her long hair.), but he still wore that shit-eating grin on his face nearly all the time. 

But what can you do?

The things you do for love, right?

She stole a glance at him.

The _dumb_ things you do for love, she decided.

"See, shaved tail," she started, poking him in the chest with her finger, "Years have passed, but one thing didn't."

The grin didn't fall off his face yet. "And that is, fluffy?"

"I. Always. Win."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. In what universe have you ever won against me, bunny?"

"I mean," she paused, glancing around their surroundings. They were on patrol; they still had a job - they could multitask, though. "Even in middle school. All those times we'd race and I'd be in the lead while you tripped over your own feet, and your face ate the dirt of my skates."

"Dear fluff fluff, haven't you ever heard the good old story of the rabbit racing the turtle?" Kim laughed, but she noticed his eyes observing their proximity. Good, he wasn't that dumb to let his guard down, forgetting they were on duty.

"And, what? You're supposed to be the turtle who wins at the end?"

"Even better. I'm the king monkey."

There was a quiet stillness.

"That," she said at last, "was horrible."

"Hey! No, it was genius!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Ha! I knew you were worried about me!"

She rolled her eyes, again.

"So, wanna race?" Kim threw his hand forward.

"Hell, yeah."

And, yeah, they raced across the rooftops like old times. She leaped across the roof edges, and Kim, living up to his monkey name, ran on all fours, occasionally flipping in the air. She slid on her knees under a billboard as Kim caught the pole and swung to the side.

It felt good to be back in Paris after their vacation. Don't get her wrong, she loved every bit of their vacation - even the bits where Kim annoyed her till steam blew out of her ears. But she missed this; jumping and racing across rooftops, laughing, hanging out with their friends who slowly became second family to her. Even if they were under threats and in danger, it felt good to be back. They still goofed around because they got this. Because they trusted each other enough that they're reassured by one another's mere presence. 

She missed her friends.

Alix hunched forward, leaning her hands on her knees as she heavily breathed in victory when she reached the designated roof, with Kim trailing behind her.

When she heard his steps on the roof, she turned to face him. "Ha! See, told you..." 

She trailed off when she noticed a blue figure flickering past them on a farther away roof. She was sure it wasn't a trick of light, or something. Someone was there.

"Bunnyx?" 

Her eye snapped back to Kim's. He was grimacing since she suddenly stopped talking.

Swallowing, she murmured, "I saw someone - a blue figure - following us."

He narrowed his eyes, turning around to check the area. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We have to tell the others."

She felt his hand sliding into hers as he nodded. 

* * *

_66 hours remaining._  
_Around 6pm Sunday._

Marinette yawned as she walked into the base. Plagg immediately zoomed off to the kitchen to get some of his lovely cheese.

Nino and her finished their patrol earlier. Nino headed to his parents' house to check on them and his sibs while she opted to head to HQ for a shower and to check in on the others. 

Maybe she could even bump into Adrien as he left for patrol.

She checked the clock as she passed by the main room. Nah, he probably already left with Nath.

Patrol with Nino was peaceful. Nothing that major went down. No akumas. No trailing. All good. It was calming, actually. Even though they had some bumps previously, talking to Nino was always reassuring to her.

Inside the main room, Max, Chloe, and Alya were still working on informing their friends. They didn't notice her as she walked past the doorway. She was about to hit the showers, but decided to check on Master Fu instead.

The mixing station used to be on roof, or so Adrien told her. After they started the whole team and base thing, it was relocated into a secluded corner in the library. She swung the door open, finding the library empty, save Master Fu. So, like she guessed, Adrien and Nath already left.

Master Fu was mixing a neon bubbling substance in the cauldron. Papers with the ingredients required were hung on the wall. On the counter, there were multicolored potions in tubes and trays of colors foods.

He looked up when he noticed her. "Ah, Marinette, how can I help you?"

She shook her head. "Just checking in, Master Fu. Do you need any help?"

"Thank you, my dear. Go shower and rest." He smiled at her softly.

She smiled back and started turning back towards the door when she heard him speak again. 

"Are you sure you are all right, my dear?"

She paused in her track, frowning slightly. What brought this up now? She twisted her neck to look back at him. "Um, yeah, I'm fine." 

His dark brown eyes were scrutinizing her. In the end, he nodded. "I do hope you truly are. Do talk to Adrien soon."

Her breath was caught in her throat. Did he know? Um, how would we know- even Nino who ran a blog didn't. It might have been Plagg's doing, though. In fact...she's sure the tiny cat should have been back by now.

She shakily nodded. "I will. Just...not now. Not with everything going on."

His eyes softened. "I know."

He turned back to the cauldron, and she took this as her cue to leave. She decided to pass by a certain cat in the kitchen first, but as she passed by the main room again, she noticed that only Alya was there. Max and Chloe were off to somewhere else.

But that wasn't what made her stop; Alya was taking pictures of the list of names of the people they had to contact.

Now, this probably wasn't that weird, but with the way Alya had been acting recently, she couldn't help but feel that something's off. 

Alya didn't notice her yet, so she walked in. "Hey, whatcha doing?"

Alya was startled, and Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Oh, hey. Didn't know you were back. Chloe went to get something from the storage, and Max went to the restroom."

She arched an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Oh," Alya said, gesturing to the paper in her hand, "Just checking that we added everyone."

Checking that they added everyone...with her phone...taking a picture? Dubious.

"Anyways!" Alya exclaimed a little too loudly, shoving her phone into her back pocket. "I've been meaning to ask you, how you doing?"

Something was really up with Alya. Her actions too weird and kinda twitchy. She wanted to help with the list, which wasn't really unusual, but what was unusual was that she turned down patrol with Nino. Back in Adrien's room, almost the moment she left they got the texts. Now, that could be a mere coincidence, seeing as she also got a text, but she hadn't seen Wayzz in a while, even though Alya's wearing the bracelet...all those eerie subtle changes happened after that last akuma attack. Her senses were tingling. 

There were only two explanations.

Either Alya had something going on - something she hadn't told anyone, even her, about - and was acting weird, or...

There was only one way to find out.

"Eh, yeah, I'm better now. Oh, and, by the way, did Chuck like the gift?"

Alya grimaced. "Chuck?"

She gave a small smile. "Yeah, your little bro. The gift that I gave him for his birthday two weeks ago."

Alya raised her eyebrows. "Ohh, yeah! Sorry, with all these names we're working with, I thought you meant someone else." She facepalmed. "Yeah, totes, he loved it."

Her heart skipped a beat, and all she could do was keep a tight smile on her face. She couldn't believe it. She had to play this smart, trying to still her heart.

_Alya's brother's Chris. His birthday was six months ago._

She tried to put on her best poker face, acting as if nothing was wrong. That wasn't Alya. That couldn't be Alya. Everything added up in that moment. Every weird action...Not seeing Wayzz; turning down patrol; the texts; not getting their inside joke earlier that morning; the...

Wait a minute, it was safe to assume that whoever was impersonating Alya was from the enemy's side, which meant...

 _Shit._ They just got a list full of _every current or previous miraculous wielder_! 

"Oo, yay." She forced her voice to be steady, pointing backwards with her thumb. "I'm glad. Listen, I gotta take a shower, so, later?"

'Alya' smiled, and, oh god, how wasn't she able to tell? Now that she knew, it was very obvious that wasn't Alya's smile. She had to tell Adrien and the others. The shower could wait. This changed the entire game.

"Yeah, sure, later, alligator."

Marinette spun on her heels and left as quickly as she could without appearing suspicious. Where the hell was Plagg?

She couldn't contact them via the comm link; she wasn't sure if that Alya-imposter had her comm or not. She could intercept Adrien and Nath on patrol, though, but to do that, she needed to find Plagg, and- 

Hold on, she couldn't just leave Max, Chloe, and Master Fu without warning them.

Turning back, she found 'Alya' leaving the main room and seemingly heading to the library. Ugh, no, she was too late. She couldn't let that fraud on her. Marinette rushed to the storage, but Chloe was nowhere to be found. Max wasn't anywhere either. Where the hell were they both? She hurried to the kitchen, and, thankfully, found Plagg eating his stinky cheese on the counter.

"Plagg," she hissed. "We have to go."

He looked up at her, mid-yawn. "What? Why? We just came back-"

She picked him up from his tail. "Short version? That's not Alya. We need to tell the others, _now_." 

His eyes turned serious, and he spoke quietly. "What-"

"I'll explain later, Plagg." She crossed the doorway, checking if anyone's in sight. All clear - a good thing considering the imposter, but, also, a bad thing considering she had to warn the others. "We'll transform, and try to catch Adrien on patrol."

Plagg nodded. "Right. I trust you."

And wasn't that sweet of him? Not the time, though.

She stopped at the elevator, pressing the button and willing it to open faster. She entered the elevator, rode up, and exited the building through the backdoor in the alleyway. Marinette was about to transform when she spotted Ladbug on the adjacent roof. 

She picked a rock and shot it, aiming at the rooftop area around Adrien's feet. He noticed it, turned around, and looked down at her. She waved a hand to call him over.

"Well," Plagg said, "At least we didn't have to transform." He pulled out another cheese slice, tossing it in the air - from where, don't ask her. She rolled her eyes.

LB landed next to her. "Mar? Do you need something?"

"Yeah, just-" she hesitated. "I thought you were long gone, though?"

"Nath and I separated to scout the area around the base. I have to get back to Nath before he goes too far-"

"Yes, yes, I know. Listen," she paused, quickly glancing at the base's backdoor, "Alya's an imposter. It isn't her."

He was silent for a moment, before speaking up, "Are you okay? Did you hit your head on patrol?"

Her heart dropped for an instant, before picking up again. "No, listen-"

"Mari, I know you said you had a bad feeling, and that Alya was acting a little oddly, but couldn't that just be because she's worried? I know I am."

She stared at him, not believing him. She gazed at Plagg for backup. 

Plagg shrugged. "I mean, it's possible. Hear her out."

She got a grip on her heart that was beating in a quickening tattoo, echoing in her ears. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do," he replied immediately, but her gut kept telling her something's wrong.

She gazed at him pleadingly. _Believe me, believe me_. "Then, trust me when I tell you that isn't Alya. It explains all her weird actions lately, and-"

"Kitty," he interrupted her, again. She couldn't look into his emerald eyes, so she traced the pavement patterns with her eye. "I know you're worried-" She wasn't. "-and I hear you-" He _wasn't_. "-but, maybe you should just head back and rest a little, okay?" She could feel her heart slowly breaking. "I need to follow Nath."

She couldn't believe this. She couldn't believe _him_.

When she didn't respond, he gently raised her chin with two fingers. "Okay?"

Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she nodded. "Yeah, okay..."

He dropped his hand, and she watched as he walked away - away from her - and threw his yo-yo, leaping back onto the roof, disappearing from her sight, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Couldn't comprehend what just happened. Couldn't believe him. Couldn't stop her racing heart, slowly breaking into more and more fragments.

How could he? How could he not hear her out? How could her just dismiss her? How could he not _trust her_? _Howcouldhe?_

"Mari?"

She blinked. She barely noticed the water piling behind her eyelids, barely noticed the soft drops of rain on top of her head and on her arms. 

Plagg zoomed into her eyesight, and her eyes snapped to his. "I'm sure he trusts you. He's just..." 

But even Plagg trailed off. _Just what?_

Nothing could explain what just happened. She breathed in the scent of the rain and huffed.

Unless...

She couldn't stop her heart from beating quickly in...disappointment? Rejection? Anticipation? Hope? But, then, a certain phrase rang in her head. 

_"Mari, I know you said you had a bad feeling, and that Alya was acting a little oddly..."_

_"...had a bad feeling, and that Alya was acting a little oddly..."_

_"..._ **_said that Alya was acting a little oddly_ ** _..."_

That's...that's it. She...she never told Adrien what exactly did she have a bad feeling about. She never told him that-

That Alya was acting oddly...

 _She didn't_. She was _sure_ of it.

A clap of thunder echoed in the background. That wasn't Adrien. It couldn't be, but what did that mean? A shapeshifter? Now, it was either that, or she was officially going nuts.

But, then, again...

_"Nath and I separated to scout the area around the base."_

_"No one goes_ **_alone_ ** _."_

 _"Everyone keeps comms on at all times, and_ **_stays with their partner_ ** _."_

_She was sure of it._

"Mari? Say something."

Marinette swallowed. "That wasn't Adrien," she murmured, barely audible over the sound of the rain - a good thing cause they certainly didn't want anyone listening in (again?).

"What?" Plagg waved his hands around. "I know he was acting off, but-"

"Plagg," she cut him off. "I never told him that I thought Alya was acting oddly."

He crossed his tiny arms. "Well, yeah, true. You didn't tell me, either."

"Adrien would _never_ just brush me off like that, Plagg." Her heart was calming down, a quiet tattoo against the thuds of the raindrops on the pavement around them.

Plagg dropped his arms and ears. "Well, that's right."

The rain kept pouring around them, isolating them from other noises.

"So," Plagg started, "What now?"

And, wasn't that the question of the year?

"Comms are too risky," she listed off. "We can't just tell the others; there's a chance one of them will be the imposter. I'm not even sure anymore. What I do know is that we need actual evidence, and we need to get out of the rain."

"Oh, I thought you'd never say that!" Plagg flew to hug her cheek. "We'll figure it out together. I'm with you." 

She bit her lip. "I know."

Plagg zoomed into her bag, and she took off running, water splashing right and left. She swerved across the streets, years of being Chatte Noire preventing her from slipping due to the rain. There was still a chance of someone overhearing her, but there was no time to waste. She pulled out her phone from her bag and dialed.

He picked up on the third ring. _"'Ello?"_

She had to make sure it was actually him. "What happened when you bumped into me in the morning?"

_"Huh?"_

"Just answer the question, Nino."

He must have heard the urgency in her voice, or something, because he instantly replied, _"Well, I still wanted to beat up that asshole."_

She exhaled, "Good. You know how-" She got cut off when a stupid driver beeped at her, causing her to slow down and turn around the corner.

 _"What was that? Are you out? In the rain?"_ She heard a door closing. _"I thought you were at HQ. Agreste, what are you doing?"_

She panted and slid into an alleyway, climbing onto the fire escape. "Listen, there's no time for this. You have access to Max's computer from your house, right?"

_"Uh, yeah. May I ask why?"_

"Perfect." She sat down on the stairs, hugging a knee to her chest. "Can you check everyone's location?"

 _"Okay, hold on. You just totally missed the chance to throw a pun. What's going on?"_ She started to discern the worry seeping through his tone. She still heard some keys clicking, meaning that he's doing as she told him.

"I...have a feeling that's growing stronger, but I need one last piece of info to confirm it." She shrugged to herself. "It's either I'm right, or I'm going crazy."

_"...Marinette, where are you? Are you okay?"_

The sky was still open, pouring out rain with the occasional thunder claps and lightning bolts. She was huddled under the bottom of one of the staircases of the fire escape when she remembered she had tossed a hoodie into her bag before patrol. She placed the phone between her shoulder and ear then unbuttoned her bag, saw Plagg's olive green eyes staring back at her, and pulled out her hoodie as she answered Nino. 

"Irrelevant, and I'm okay." She wavered, muttering, "I think."

He must have heard it because the key clicking stopped, and he replied, _"You_ think _?"_

"Nino, just- can you do as I told you-"

The typing resumed. _"I am, but I can multitask, dumbo. Tell me, or I'm calling Adrien on you."_

She clicked her tongue, slipping on the hoodie over her head. "Why must you be like this?" Marinette asked once she moved the phone back to her hand.

_"I have him on speed-dial, Agreste."_

She scoffed, "He's on patrol, genius."

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice. _"Oh, yeah? I can call him on his comm. Max upgraded our comms, but, well, guess he forgot to tell the rest of you."_

"Shut up, and check the locations already. Now, hear me out. You know how Alya's been...off?"

_"Uh-huh. Of course you noticed, too."_

"So." She bit her lip, pulling at her sleeve. "I kinda think- scratch that, I'm pretty sure she's not-"

 _"Huh?"_ Nino unintentionally interrupted, or at least she thought so. _"That's weird..."_

Her heart raced. "What is it?"

His reply came after a few seconds. _"Max has made a note, like a few hours ago, about Alya's comm. Says here that he tried fixing the system, but it keeps pointing that Alya's location in some specific alley. Doesn't change-"_

She swallowed hardly, her heart beats ringing in her ears. "Where?"

 _"Hold on,"_ he muttered. _"Some...alley near the-"_ He suddenly stopped.

"Nino? Near the what?"

 _"...You were going to say that it isn't Alya, weren't you?"_ His voice was tense.

She hummed, although she was close to panicking internally. "Near the tower?" She leaped down of the staircase. The tower. Yeah, that was nearby. 

_"Oh my god,"_ he whispered. _"How didn't I see it-_ Shit _\- Doesn't this mean that imposter was amongst us since last attack?"_

She sprinted out of the alley. "They have the list."

 _"They have- The list- Did you tell Adrien?"_ She heard a chair rolling back.

She huffed a breath as she rounded the corner. She could see the tower. "Uh- I technically did, but it's complicated...? Listen, talk me through to reach Alya's comm?" 

_"Let me- You're on the right path. Straight ahead then turn left when I tell you. Also, what the hell do you mean by that?"_

"I mean, I might or might not have told him, but it might or might nor have been actually him, which means they might or might not know I'm onto them." It was still raining, so she tried to stay under the shades of the buildings and nearby stores. And dodge those cars that kept splashing water puddles around her-

She heard Nino groaning. _"Marinette, speak English, and_ we're _onto them. You're not running off on your own, dumbass."_

She jumped over a puddle. This was their tangible evidence. Then, they'll have to actually find Alya, and tell the others, but anyways. She absently wondered how she didn't run into LB or KB so far.

"Right, sure."

_"Marinette, that better had been serious, and not sarcasm-"_

"It was! I'm totally-"

_"Wait! Go back; you passed the alley."_

She went back and stopped in front the alley's mouth to her right. "This one?"

 _"Yeah. It's in the far end. That is, if we're actually right."_ She could nearly imagine him running a hand through his hair, pacing around his room. _"I can't believe this,"_ he mumbled.

She left him alone to his monologue, mainly because she already had hers, and because she needed to use her phone's flashlight. 

Her steps splashed water, echoing through the alleyway, almost as loud as her heart thudding in her ears. Plagg flew out of her bag and zoomed further into the alley. 

_"Anything?"_ The sound cackled from her phone's speaker.

"Give me a minute. Wait, how is it still functioning with all that rain?"

_"You don't know? The comms are waterproof."_

"Bless Max Kante."

 _"Right?!"_ He let out a laugh, but it was shaky. She didn't blame him, though.

She continued searching the ground, swinging the flashlight around, as Plagg searched somewhere ahead of her.

_"So, what confirmed it for you?"_

"Chuck, and his birthday that was two weeks ago."

_"Who?"_

"Her younger brother."

_"...You mean Chris...whose birthday was six months ago?"_

"Point."

_"Ah. Got it. Smart."_

"Marinette," Plagg called.

"You found it?" Mari called back, but she hurried forward anyway. She kneeled down to where Plagg was hovering above the ground. There it was, in all its glory. She picked up the tiny device, inspecting it. She ran her thumb over the minuscule coated turtle shell painting.

_"Mari?"_

She got up, pocketing the comm in her bag. She turned off the flashlight and pushed back the phone to her ear. "Yes, it's hers."

She heard his intake of air. _"Great. Now we tell Adrien?"_

"Actually," she said, ignoring the look Plagg shot her, "I have a perfectly good idea about where's Alya."

_"Where?"_

She ushered Plagg into the bag before she dashed out of the alley, crossing the road and turning left. "Actually-"

_"No."_

She almost halted in her steps. "I haven't even said anything yet, jerk."

_"Give me some credit, Mar. I know you. Not happening."_

"But," she started as she dodged another puddle, "What about Max, Chloe, and Master Fu? Last I checked, they were at HQ with that fake. I couldn't warn them before leaving."

_"Tell you what? I'll send Max a coded warning. Only he'll know what it means."_

She had to admit that was a clever trick. She dashed into an alley on her right - a shortcut she knew. Marinette was about to reply when he beat her to it. 

_"If you won't take me with you, I'm telling Adrien. You aren't going without backup where there might be a fight. Also, you aren't going to find Alya without me, either."_

"Just so you know, I was going to agree," she felt the urge to mention. 

_"Totes. I just sent Max the message. Trixx, come on."_ She heard a door opening and some voices speaking in the background. He answered the voices - his parents or sibs, probably - with something along the lines of meeting up with his friend. There was then the sound of rain on his end, too. _"Where to?"_

She slowed down, taking a few turns. "It's gonna sound dumb, but I have a feeling-"

_"Yeah? Then, knowing you, it's probably right. Shoot."_

She grinned. "Our apartment."

 _"Yours and Alya's?"_ She thought she heard him mutter something about how he could see why it's a dumb idea, but she ignored him.

"The one and only."

_"Wait for me. Don't go up on your own."_

"No promises, especially seeing that I'm at the building's entrance." She climbed the stairs and pulled the entrance's door open.

 _"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Meet you there. Try to stay alive until I come, alright? I'd hate it if something happened to you, because you're dumb and decided not to wait, and Adrien killed me."_ His breath was coming in huffs now. Good, he was on his way.

Ah, it felt good to be out of the rain. Even if she was dragging water all over the building's base floor. She headed to the stairs. "Sorry, what's that? You'd hate it if something happened to me? Aw, I knew you cared."

_"Sure, yeah, just don't die."_

"Yuppies, I'll add it to my list."

 _"Fifteen minutes, Agreste. Don't do anything stupid."_ With that, he hung up.

She climbed the stairs, two at a time. She couldn't help thinking that this was dumb. Why would Alya be at their apartment? 

But at the same time, she hadn't been there every since last attack (even before that, but that part's irrelevant). This might be their only lead. 

Heart thrumming in her ears with adrenaline, she reached their apartment's floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :DDD  
> (brace yourselves!! this is just the beginning)


	26. 25: Chasing Silhouettes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alix and Kim bring news, Nath stumbles upon something, and Mari is up to no good. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late, but better late than never!!  
> Title is from Ruelle's Up in Flames
> 
> Another long chapter ahead, enjoy :3

_64.5 hours remaining._  
_Around 7:30pm Sunday._

Kim and Alix stepped into the base the moment the elevator tinged open. Alix swerved towards the main room as Kim followed her steps, their kwamis floating slowly behind them.

After Alix spotted that blue blur, they tried to contact the others or even HQ, but all they got was either no response or static. So, they had to head back to the base, which wasn't the issue. The issue was that they were pretty much on the other side of the city, meaning they would take some time to get back - precisely what happened. The sudden rain definitely didn't help. 

Some of them weren't as used to running across rooftops, or the streets, with rain puddles, thank you very much. At least only their hair got wet; their suits were waterproof.

Now, as they dashed through the unfortunately, but expected mostly empty base, Kim couldn't help but contemplate about what's upcoming. 

They turned around the wide doorway of the main room, and Alya pounded onto Max. 

"Why the hell weren't you answering?"

Anyone who looked at her right now would say that she's pissed, but Kim knew she was worried, scared even. Not that he blamed her. Someone was following them today on patrol, somehow. Someone - or someones - was threatening their friends for a few months now, and started threatening them, too. Some weird feeling was bubbling under his skin, something similar to déjà vu, but he pushed it down and focused back on the conversation. 

Max twirled around on his chair, staring at them with wide eyes. "Answer what? What took you so long?"

"Comms. We had to run from the other side of the city under the rain, bro," replied Kim while Alix flicked her hair with a towel she picked up.

Max grimaced. "Nothing came, guys."

"Adrien and Nathaniel left already?" Alix huffed.

Kim walked past Alix to grab a towel as Max said, "A long while ago. Why?"

"We- I saw someone following us. A blue blur, but I'm sure of it," Alix cut to the chase.

Max raised his eyebrows. "Why didn't you call it in- Right, sorry." He corrected himself when he realized - or when Alix glared at him. 

"Did ya ping the bug?" Xuppu asked as he zoomed in with Fluff, both carrying some sort of food. 

"He means Ladbug," Fluff clarified helpfully. He'd say she's too innocent, but he knew better. No one was that innocent in their line of work. (And didn't that phrase make it sound super epic!)

Max turned back to the monitors and pushed a button. "HQ to Ladbug. HQ to LB. You there, man?"

There was a crackle before they heard Adrien. _"Yeah. Something wrong?"_

Kim leaned against the table. "Adrien, someone was following us."

_"On patrol? Did you see who?"_

"A blue blur. That's all I spotted," Alix chimed in.

Another crackle passed, signaling Nath opening his comm. _"Blue blur? You don't think..."_

_"Since Bunnyx didn't see much, I'd say anything is possible at this point. Did you warn the others?"_

"Nope. We just came in, Lad."

_"Got it. Tell the others to keep an eye. LB out."_ A click, indicating Adrien closed his comm.

_"'LB out' that_ still _sounds dumb."_ Nath commented before muting his comm again.

"Huh," Kim thought out loud, "Where are the others, actually?"

"We saw Master Fu and Chloe when we were getting our food!" Fluff mentioned. (Will she ever stop bouncing? Probably not.)

Alix came to sit on the table next to him. Max turned to them, saying, "Chloe went to help Master Fu since we were done with the list. I was contacting some others. Alya just disappeared - checked the comm tracker; she was moving near the tower...which is weird cause last I checked, there was some error in her comm tracker." He muttered that last part, but Kim still heard him. He wondered what that was about.

Before he could ask, Alix prompted, "What about Mar and Nino?"

"Nino said he'll head home. Mari was supposed to come back here, though." Max turned around, bringing up a map. "Huh, she's with Alya. What are they doing running across the streets in the rain?"

Kim shrugged. "No clue, bro."

He turned his head, watching as Alix stood up and headed to the door. "I'mma take a shower. Later, peeps."

Huh, a shower did sound good. And warm.

Eh, anyways. He sent Max a smirk. "So, how can I help, bro?" 

* * *

_63 hours remaining._  
_Around 9pm Sunday._

Ladbug and King Bee were patrolling for about three hours now and everything was clear so far. Not that Adrien wanted to jinx it, but the only moderately bad thing was the unabating rain pouring on them. But this was Paris, they were used to this rain.

Still, he couldn't stop his head from thinking about that blue blur Alix saw. He had a feeling who it was, but he really didn't want it to be that same person. 

What were the chances, though?

Adrien and Nath already stopped a burglary and helped a few civilians take cover from the rain. Besides that, all was peaceful. He couldn't stop the feeling that something's wrong. It kept itching at him and itching and itching, until he twisted his neck to look back at Bee, after swinging over the gap between the buildings, and found no one. 

He halted in his steps, rain splashing around his feet. "Bee?"

Nothing.

"Bee?!" 

Silence.

He twirled around, scanning the rooftops for his yellow-and-black-clad teammate. The rain was making it slightly difficult to see, but years of patrolling gave him an advantage. He still couldn't find anything. 

Where the hell did he go so quickly and quietly?

Ladbug was about to click his comm on when two screams caught his attention. A woman was crying on the street below as a little boy dangled from a balcony's ledge.

Dammit, Nath.

Duty calls. 

* * *

_62.25 hours remaining._  
_Around 9:45pm Sunday._

Marinette climbed the stairs of her apartment, probably dragging water all over the place, but this wasn't the time to worry about dirtying the building. 

Plagg poked his head out of the corner of her bag. "Shouldn't you transform before going in?"

She waved him off as she turned around to climb another set of stairs. "Nah, we aren't even sure what's in there. It could be nothing. Besides, shouldn't let our neighbors see Chatte Noire entering our apartment."

Plagg looked unconvinced. "But-"

"I'll transform inside if we need to. We'll be fine," she interrupted as she reached their apartment's floor.

"You have a point. Fine." 

Marinette pulled out her keys from her bag, pausing to a stop in front of their front door. She breathed in as she twisted the key inside the door. She slowly pushed the door open. 

The apartment seemed normal, as she left it. The lights were closed, the only light source coming from the behind the curtains. She flipped the light switch, turning on the dimmed lights. She hung her bag, after Plagg zoomed out, and pulled off her soaked sweatshirt. Marinette picked up a towel from the counter near the door - specific towels left near their door and windows for after patrols in rain. Their apartment wasn't the quintessence for tidiness, but it also wasn't a horrible mess of dirt. Some clothes were tossed on the couch. They had some plants placed around the corners. It was cozy. 

She missed their apartment. 

"Nothing seems unusual," Plagg observed as she dried her hair. Ugh, she was still a little soaking. She had to change later.

"Yeah," she replied uneasily. She didn't know what she expected to find.

She shared a look with Plagg before walking quietly further into the apartment. She wasn't dumb to call out like those idiots in horror movies. Sneak on the enemy before you make yourself known and, more importantly, before they sneak on you.

She passed by her room while Plagg checked out the kitchen. Everything was as she left it a few days ago. She crossed the hallway to Alya's room as Plagg zoomed back to her.

"Nothing," Plagg yawned.

"Same here," she muttered distractedly as she pushed Alya's door open. 

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Headphones and laptop laying on the desk. Clothes tossed on the bed and some socks on the floor. Typical Alya stuff.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this emptiness. This was a dumb idea," she thought out loud.

Plagg said, "There are still other places to look. Maybe there's something."

She was about to turn around when she heard a thump from Alya's closet. She glanced at Plagg, who was narrowing his eyes, before she pulled open the closet.

She gasped, "Alya!"

Marinette pushed the clothes to the side and dropped to her knees next to her friend. Alya was on her knees, staring at her with wide eyes. Her hands and ankles were tied together behind her back and she was gagged. Her hair was wildly tousled.

Marinette untied the gag first, pulling it off Alya's mouth. "Alya, what happened-"

"We gotta get outta here," Alya breathed.

She heard the window slam open too late. The sound of rain pouring down increased as footsteps sounded. It was truly too late. 

"Someone's coming!" Plagg hissed.

She got her answer before she even asked the question. 

"Shit, shit." She twisted around her friend to untie the bounds. "Where's your miraculous?"

"I don't know!"

The damn thing was tied thrice. She only managed to untie one knot before the footsteps came to a stop too damn near to them.

"Well, well, well. Look who figured out our little puzzle," said a voice from the direction of the doorway. A...very familiar voice-

She whirled around, standing up in one graceful move. 

" _Lila._ " 

* * *

_62 hours remaining._  
_Around 10pm Sunday._

The rain made it harder to see. Harder to run, but Nathaniel had to run. Had to chase someone across the rooftops because this was their one chance at turning the tables of the game. 

He might have felt a little bad for leaving Ladbug behind, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't have a choice in that matter. Something wrapped around his ankle as he was making a leap over a building and dragged him down. When he rolled back to his feet down on the street, he spotted a blue blur moving, and he knew he had to follow it.

Besides, if Ladbug was mad, or whatever, he'd yell at him on the comms, which didn't happen yet.

The water continued to pour down heavily on the top of his head even as he dashed behind that almost imperceptible blur. He jumped down and landed on a shorter building, rolling over to ease his landing. Nathaniel narrowed his eyes, locking them on the mystery person as he or she climbed over a taller building. He pulled out his spinner and tossed it, wrapping it around one of the building's beams.

He sprinted to the edge of the rooftop, taking a leap and pushing his feet against the taller building's wall - which would have been very much easier if it weren't for the rain. His feet slipped for a moment, only his grip on his spinner holding him up in the air, before he swung to gain momentum and heaved himself up over a window's ledge.

If Nathaniel took any longer, he'd lose the person. Damn the rain. 

He grabbed the spinner's rope with both hands and raised his feet against the wall once more, this time not slipping. He moved swiftly, putting as much of his weight as he can on the rope instead of the wall. Nathaniel hauled himself up, grabbing onto some bricks, once he reached the roof's ledge.

He pulled himself to his feet and swiped the spinner back to him. And, as expected, the rooftop was empty. He suppressed a groan and walked over to the other end of the roof, hoping to spot the mystery person somewhere down there.

Or at least that was the plan before he got tackled to the ground of the roof, sliding a few extra inches due to the rain puddles.

He narrowed his eyes to stop the rain from entering them and to glare at the person holding him down with her foot on his chest. 

" _Mayura._ "

In all her glory (something Nath can't say about himself as he was covered in dirt and rain - and on the ground), Mayura stood there over him, looking about the same as he last saw her over a year ago. She stared at him owlishly (or should he say peacockishly- god, no, Mari was rubbing off him badly) with her unblinking purple eyes and pointed her fan of feathers at his neck. 

Of course it was Mayura. Blue blur- who else would it be? The blue genie from Aladdin?

"An adequate job following me, but is it adequate enough for your so-called team leader?"

If there was one thing he hated the most about Mayura (and trust him, there were plenty of things to hate about her existence), it was her stupid mind games.

And that dumb, shit-eating purple grin on her face.

He snarled, "Finally decided to show your face after a year?"

She pressed down with her feet harder. "What's it to you, boy? Unless you finally decided to take up my offer - which still stands."

Her offer. Yeah, right.

He gave the shittest grin he could muster. (Times such as this that require some smug behavior make him glad he's friends with some certain people.) "Yeah, no." Enough of that, he decided. He raised his legs as high as he could with Mayura pressing him down and wrapped them around her waist, throwing her off him. He scrambled to his feet, pulling out his spinner once again, as Mayura elegantly (ugh) landed on her feet a few meters away from him.

"Cute, but I wonder if that's enough for your team." 

He grunted and tossed his spinner at her. She flipped it out with her fan, taking a step forward. "Regardless, I'm not here to fight with you, Nathaniel."

He ignored the use of his real name. "Oh, yeah?" He dashed towards her, aiming to land a kick on her abdomen. 

She blocked it. "You never listened back then. Haven't you learned your lesson, yet?"

Back then, she said. Ha. Back then, everything was different. Back then, he was different. Back then, Nathaniel was just a spoilt, whiny child (even he had to admit that). Back then, he had no true friends (and the ones he did have, he treated poorly). Back then, he wanted to save world (he still does), but he wanted the attention that came along it (that part changed). Back then, he had no team, no identity (he had both now). Back then, he almost allowed himself to be manipulated by Mayura and the likes of her (that won't happen again- never again). Back then, no one trusted him with their lives, and he trusted no one (now, he had a whole team backing him up - a team that knows he had their backs as well). Back then, it was all about insults and biting, poisonous comments (now, it's about teasing and, well, exasperation, but that didn't go without fondness).

(Back then, they didn't know Hawkmoth's identity - they did now, but what good was that with a new Hawky? Back then, they didn't know about Mayura's existence or her identity - the last bit didn't change, unfortunately. Back then, their identities weren't exposed to the enemy, or at least the others' - Nathaniel exposed himself years ago. His foolish old self.)

She said Nathaniel didn't learn his lesson, but little did she know, Nathaniel already did.

Now, as he stood on that rooftop with rain pouring down on him, standing up against Mayura, the past and the present collided, but that's just the cycle of life. The world may change, the people themselves definitely change, but you always had those people you can absolutely count on. Past, present, or future.

The past and the present will always keep mixing. You can never escape the past, the errors, the mistakes, or the regrets, but, with the right people backing you, you don't have to face it alone.

He hoped Mari knew that too. (Her past and present were forever entangled, unless she got closure - which he hoped for, too, after this whole mess they got in.)

Nathaniel feigned a kick to Mayura's left and, when Mayura raised a hand to catch his ankle, shifted, using her arm as leverage to flip over her shoulder. He landed behind her in a crouch and swiftly twisted to swipe her legs off the ground. (A move he learned from Mari.)

Mayura caught herself with an arm (which, okay, rude? Why can she manage just fine in the rain and slippery grounds?) and pulled him from the ankle, tossing him to the other side of the rooftop. He rolled to ease the launch, the rain for once aiding him tonight. 

The time that he took to stop his crash was enough for Mayura to charge at him with her fist. Still on the ground, Nathaniel threw his spinner around her wrist and pulled her downwards, jumping to his feet to hold her down with his feet. (A move he learned from Adrien.)

Sadly, Mayura twisted in his grip somehow and he suddenly found himself on the ledge of the roof, looking over the alley and the streets below, with his arm buckled behind him in Mayura's grasp - keeping him from falling over. 

Well, that escalated quickly, said a voice in his head that sounded oddly a lot like Alya. 

"You said," he gritted his teeth, "You said you aren't here to fight, and you want me to believe you like that?"

She pulled his arm further behind his back, and he bit back a groan. "Need I remind you, imbecile, that you attacked first?"

"Oh, are we kindergarteners, now?" Nathaniel forced out. The suit would protect him from a short fall, but from this height? Not so much. He dropped his spinner, too. Dammit.

"I came here to warn you," she continued on, ignoring his remark and throwing him back on the rooftop.

"Warn me?" Nathaniel asked disbelievingly as he rubbed his shoulder. "More like threaten me, don't ya think?"

"I don't care what you think," she started and bent down. To do what? Nathaniel wasn't going to wait around to figure out.

He pulled his arms up in defense, stumbling to his feet. He eyed her as she picked up his spinner then he dashed and tackled her to the ground. As they fell on the wet ground, rain puddles splashing, she twisted around and wrapped her legs around his neck. He dropped on his back, eyes disoriented and sounds echoing.

He blinked to clear the dizziness while she stood up and held him down with a foot to his shoulder and his spinner her hand pointed at his neck. "I already told you I'm not here for a battle. I'm here to warn you. Now, would you listen?"

He frowned. Right there, under the rain, with no one calling him back yet, he thought, what's the worst that could happen? Oh, yeah, she could try to manipulate him, again (and again). Or, he could actually get a useful piece of information that will aid them in this fight against the literal unknown force. She did have the chance to throw him off the roof, so if she didn't, that had to mean she had something important to say, right? On the other hand (literally her other hand), she was holding his spinner a little too closely to his neck, which meant he either listened or risked his life.

"Well?" Mayura said impatiently.

"What do you want?" Nathaniel ended up saying, looking up at her. He groaned internally when he realized they practically went back to the same position from the beginning of the fight.

"You wasted enough time." She narrowed her eyes, as if it's his fault for attacking, well, his enemy. "If you only listened from the start, I would have warned you, and you would have saved your friend in time."

His friend? The first person that crossed his mind was Adrien, but that didn't make sense. She dragged him away from Adrien to warn him. But, then, who was it? They were the only ones on patrol, and she said 'friend' - singular. It couldn't be Chloe, Max, or Alya because they were all together at the base with Master Fu. Kim and Alix were probably together, so that ruled them out. That left...Nino and Mari-

"Friend? Who?" He grimaced, raising his head to properly look at her, ignoring the spinner in her hand.

She moved her foot from his body, releasing him. "Marinette."

His breath was caught in his chest for a moment.

"Marinette- But- How do you know that? Where is she?" Nathaniel asked, trying to push down his heart that was about to leap from his chest.

"That doesn't matter-"

"Like hell it doesn't!" He rose to his feet and swiped the spinner from her hand. (Or had she given him it intentionally?) "How the hell do you know that, and where is she?"

Mayura glared at him exasperatedly, like it's his fault for not trusting, or for believing her, but wanting to know _how she did_. He barely registered the rain anymore.

"You have two options, Bourgeois." He, again, ignored the use of his name. "Either go save your friend, or stay here and interrogate me."

He didn't even have to think twice, let alone once. Dammit. "How do you even know that?" Nathaniel tried weakly again. "And where is she?" He sounded like a broken record, even he knew that.

She looked at him (sympathetically?). "I only know that she's in possible danger. You'll have to find her on your own."

And wasn't that just his luck? But, wait, hold on. Their comms had trackers - he was sure he heard Chloe mention it once. He just had to get to the base quickly and pray nothing happened already.

Lightning struck, blinding him temporarily. When he opened his eyes again, Mayura was nowhere to be found. 

As he turned around, tossing his spinner and aiming at the farthest, highest point possible, he couldn't help but think, what was it for Mayura of all people if Mari got hurt? (And that, whether intentionally or not, Mayura had lead him halfway towards the base.) 

* * *

_61.83 hours remaining._  
_Around 10:10pm Sunday._

Standing in the middle of their hallway like she owned the place was Lila fucking Rossi. Because, of course she was related to all this chaos - that was if she weren't the head of it all. She didn't look quite different from their high school days, which, considering the fact she barely attended at all, and the fact that she mysteriously disappeared and just- never attended their senior year, was definitely not heartwarming or nostalgic. 

Lila herself was always a cold person, lying at every turn and twist to manipulate everyone and any situation to her bidding. Her brown hair flowed behind her, as if it could cover for her lies and manipulations that ruined lives.

Marinette shuffled slightly to cover Alya and Plagg, who zoomed behind to claw the ropes until they untied, and stared Lila expressionlessly. 

"What?" Lila huffed a laugh. "That's the welcome I get?" 

Marinette stayed silent, analyzing the situation. Alya's still tied, which Plagg was working on, and didn't have her miraculous. There was no way she was going to leave Alya behind. They were cornered in Alya's room, though. If Lila attacked, she wouldn't have enough space to dodge or counter.

"No ' _I missed you, Lila!_ '? Or ' _It's good to see you, old friend!_ '?" Lila drawled, continuing when she didn't respond.

"It's never good to see you, Lila," Alya spat from behind her, and she had to agree with her friend. 

Lila turned her cold olive eyes on Alya. "Shut it, you. I didn't ask you."

The way Lila was blocking the doorway had to change. She had to force her to move, but the question was _how_.

"Oooh! I'm so terrified!" Alya raised her eyebrows. "Come fight me if you aren't that big of a coward."

Lila's eyes darkened dangerously, and that was _it_. Bless Alya. She hoped Plagg was at least halfway done with ripping the ropes.

"So," she started, causing Lila's eyes to snap back to her, "What's this supposed to be?"

A smile crawled onto Lila's face almost immediately. "You know, I knew you'd be the first one to figure it all out."

She ignored the implication. "Figure what out? That you're impersonating Alya? Or that you're working with the new Hawkmoth?"

Lila pouted. "Why didn't you think that _I_ 'm the new Hawkmoth?"

She just had to play her cards right. Lila's always been unpredictable; one wrong move and it'll escalate too rapidly. "You don't really hit me like a person who's in charge, you know?"

Lila's eyes flashed. Amazing. "Oh, really?" 

She knew that look; she had to do it now. "Plagg, claws-" 

She couldn't even finish the transformation words before a hand grabbed her own, and suddenly she was in the air, crashing backwards into a wall. And, crap, what was that? Lila didn't move an inch.

She gasped and coughed. She heard Alya yell something. Blinking, she looked up and found that, and she was laying on the hallway's ground. Well, that's one way to succeed, she guessed. Ladies and gents, that was precisely why Adrien was the one with the plans. She narrowed her eyes. What the hell? Lila in fact didn't move, but her hand definitely did. Her hand that's attached to what appears to be a spaghetti limb - that's the best way Marinette could put it. 

" _Hey_! Leave her alone!" 

Lila stalked forward, dismissing Alya. "How do I hit you now, Mar-Mar?"

She clicked her tongue in disgust. "Quite literally." Her eyes still tracked Lila's extended limb, and, of course, Lila noticed.

"What? Astonished by my powers?" Lila gave a laugh and retracted her hand. Well, that solved the mystery of how she impersonated Alya.

Her head was still fuzzy from the mini-ride she got for free, but she had to get up. She swallowed and mumbled, "Plagg, claws out."

But nothing happened.

She scrambled to her feet, leaning on the wall. She saw Alya over Lila's shoulder, still on the floor tied, and, wait a minute, Plagg cutting the ropes! But, how didn't she transform-

Lila raised a hand and chuckled. "Looking for this little thing?" In her hand, held between her filthy fingers was her ring.

A statement, something Plagg explained a few years back, when they were just starting (after...Lady WiFI?), rang through her head. Something about how when the miraculous is removed unintentionally, the kwami stays.

Crap, she had to get back the ring, or at least get it away from Lila and her smug face.

Lila had her eyes on her. Good, that meant she wouldn't turn back to Alya or Plagg. The corridor wasn't wide enough to hold a fight; she had to lead Lila back to the living room, at least.

"Didn't know you were into jewelry, Rossi!" Marinette called out and she slowly edged backwards to the end of the hall. Surely enough, Lila was right after her. (Or before her actually?- Ugh, technicalities.)

"Aw! Did you want to know to buy me a present on Valentine's Day?" Her words might have been sweet (debatable), but she might as well have been spitting venom with that look on her face.

"Can't you take a hint, honestly?" Marinette asked while she ducked under the vase Lila threw. (Hey! That's their home! Can't she at least be respectful?...Probably not.) The vase broke into tiny shards which she leaped over.

She was about to round a corner when a hand grabbed her ankle, tossing her on the coffee table, breaking it. 

Ouch. Damn Lila and her new stretching shit. 

Marinette pushed herself up on her elbows, wincing at the cuts around her arms and bruises on her back. Ugh, this time, the crash broke skin. And a table.

"What hint?" Lila's face came to her vision. This was not going well, not one bit. 

If she could only grab the ring.

"Ah, you know," she grunted, "A, I have a boyfriend. B, I'm not into girls. C, even if I was, I wouldn't be into _you_." She hooked her legs behind Lila's ankles and pulled. She rolled off the table quickly as Lila fell face first. Marinette thought she spotted a sparkle - the ring falling from Lila's hand? She held Lila down with her knee for good measure. "So, whatcha say we have a little chat?"

"A chat?" Lila spat out.

"Yeah! Like, who are you working with? Why are you doing this? What do you want from us? That kinda stuff!"

She felt Lila shaking with laughter before she twisted her neck to gaze at her. "You think I'd tell you anything? What do you take me for, a fool?"

She thought it over. "Actually, yeah." 

In hindsight, maybe, just _maybe_ , she shouldn't have antagonized Lila that much.

She was suddenly lifted in the air and slammed into the couch. This wasn't working - she needed a weapon. 

"What did you say? Repeat that," Lila innocently (bah, as if) said, looming over her.

"Gladly," she muttered. She pulled herself up, using the couch's arm as leverage to leap over Lila's shoulder. She landed on her knees and swiftly struck Lila's knee with the broken table leg she grabbed, causing her to stumble and fall. 

Good thing she got herself one.

"You're a fool, Lila Rossi. An example of that would be that you kidnapped Alya and, well, you see, hid her in _our_ apartment, in _her own_ closet."

But, as the previous attempts, Lila didn't stay down. Or, more precisely, she didn't stay down. Lila kicked her into the air, extending her limbs to further Marinette's flight. Marinette rolled to ease her crash, scrambling to her feet, but she wasn't quick enough. Lila was suddenly right there, wrapping a hand around her neck and slamming her into the wall. 

"Maybe I did that because I _knew you_ 'd figure it out. Maybe I _wanted_ a confrontation with _you_ specifically. Now, it's my turn to ask. I never got why you did this, Mari. You had the chance to _rule_ , have _power_ , yet you turned it all down. _Why_?" Lila demanded with an easy, fake smile on her face. She tightened her hold, making Marinette gasp. 

She took as deep a breath as she could manage in her current situation and raised her knee, kicking Lila as strong as she could. Lila stumbled backwards and Marinette fell to the ground, gasping. She tried to catch her breath and calm her heart that was running a tattoo, but Lila recovered too quickly.

" _You_ -"

"I said, _leave her alone_!" Marinette whirled her head up. Alya was behind Lila, swinging a broken piece of wood at her head, but it didn't hit her. Lila shifted - literally - and her head split around the wood plank.

That was...unexpected.

Marinette struggled to her feet as Lila elbowed Alya in the gut and kicked her backwards, extending her limbs for extra measure. Alya crashed to the wall and slid down. Lila turned towards her and threw a punch that Marinette blocked. She held Lila's fist in a hand and twisted Lila's elbow with her other arm, then she flipped Lila, pushing her on the ground and holding her down with her body.

Lila growled, "I'm done playing around."

"What," she paused to catch her breath, "What, got something better to do?" She didn't know where Plagg was, didn't know if Alya was still down, and didn't know where the fucking hell was _Nino_.

"Honestly? No," Lila responded. "But I came here to give you a second chance. Give it up before your time passes because you _will_ regret it."

"Ha, a second chance? Isn't that my line?" She thought it over. "Actually, with you, it'd be, like, third or fourth chance at least..."

Lila rolled them over, holding her down with a knee as she picked up the wooden plank and broke it in half. She wasn't going to wait any much longer. Marinette grasped Lila's knee and twisted it to the side. Lila stumbled in surprised, but stretched her limbs to catch herself. As Lila extended her arms, Marinette grabbed her left arm, using it to pull herself up. Upon doing just that, she buckled the arm behind Lila's back, an effective move with someone without flexible limbs, but it should hold her for a moment.

"What's in it for you?"

Lila threw her head in a laugh. "Wouldn't you want to know?" Then, Lila kicked backwards, but she dodged the first kick, and the second, but she didn't see coming the elbow slamming into her chest. Lila flipped them around when Marinette loosened her grip and locked an arm around Marinette's arm, trapping her between the wall and Lila's front pressing against her own back. She struggled, but Lila held her still.

"I tried to warn you, Agreste," she hissed in her ear. "Speaking of whom, _I_ 'll make sure to send your greetings to _your mother_ when _I_ see her."

"I... _what_?" The sudden reference to her mom made her stop struggling and slow down for a second. That, was her terrific mistake. But she didn't realize it, at least not until she felt a sharp end of something (the wooden plank Lila broke, her mind supplied) prodding into her back, breaking through the skin and pushing deeper. 

She inhaled sharply, gasping softly as her body involuntarily buckled forward. 

Then, she felt it slide out, and that felt _even worse_. 

She thought she screamed, but she wasn't even sure if she had enough breath in her to produce that loud of a sound. She thought she heard Alya - or was it Plagg?

The world blurred out, and the room spun around her as she fell to her knees. Her hands tried to grip the wall, or even the ground, but it was as if her hands stopped working. The warmth around her lower back wasn't making the matters better. The reality was settling in - or was it reality? Was it a hallucination? A dream? A nightmare?

Someone was shaking her shoulder, urging her to open her eyes. So, she did. Her vision was fuzzier than before, and, oh, when did she face the ceiling? Was it just her, or was the ceiling drawing closer? Probably just her.

The same someone - or was it? - shook her again and took her chin in their palm. She thought it was Alya, but she wasn't sure. She also thought she heard some thuds, like someone fighting, but who'd be fighting now?

She thought she heard someone cry. She was sure, though, that she tasted blood in her mouth. Her subconscious told her that was a really bad thing, but she couldn't remember why.

Someone else came to her side. She didn't know who.

They were talking over her. She didn't know if they were two people or more.

She felt something cold slide over her finger. She opened her eyes (when did they close?) and she saw a blurry figure, but she thought it was Alya. She was...was she saying something? She tried to concentrate - Alya really looked worried.

"-lease, Mari, my love.....to transform..... _please._ " 

"-the _only_ way? Can't Plagg...transform her.....we're wasting time."

"- _ait_! She's more......now! _Mari_ , we.....to transform!"

She coughed, mumbling the transformation words. Immediately, the pain eased, but not completely. She felt herself drifting off again.

She thought someone carried her.

She thought she heard Nath. She thought she heard him asking her to detransform, so she mumbled the words - not sure that's what he was asking for, but she didn't have the strength to focus anymore.

The black dots kept growing more and more, but the pain was fading away. At least it was, until something happened that spiked the pain again. She gasped. But, there was...It felt like a hand was hovering over her shoulder before dropping on it. 

Someone was saying something. She wasn't sure how much time passed, who it was, or what he or she were saying. What she did know was that there was a reassuring, comforting tone to his (she thought it was a male - Nath? Nino? Adrien?) voice that calmed her down. 

And with that, the darkness finally took over - for real this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say...I have no regrets >:3
> 
> \--
> 
> On a total different note, I'm thinking about turning this into a mini-verse or something when it ends. Like, I'll make oneshots and I'm willing to take prompts for what you guys would like to see from this verse. Either comment below or send prompts via tumblr. You'll find me under [jseify](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jseify). Or instagram under [_jseify_](https://www.instagram.com/_jseify_/). Have a good day, and stay safe!! <3


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